123Pune.com

PUNE: A 7.5 per cent hike over last year's tuition fee for the engineering degree course has been permitted by the state-appointed Shikshan Shulka Samiti for the academic year 2007-08.

However, not all the 164 engineering colleges in the state will be able to charge the new fee. The hike comes with a rider that only those colleges which got their fee for 2006-07 finalised by the Samiti can charge the new fee.

There are 81 colleges, including 21 in Pune, who meet this condition and will benefit from the latest hike. A Samiti official told TOI that the hike was applicable to only new admissions, i.e. students getting into first-year engineering.

The remaining 83 colleges will have to stick to the old fee structure until their fee proposals for 2006-07 are through. These institutions failed to submit their audited financial statements for 2005-06 on time to enable the Samiti to finalise the proposals.

This further brings out the role of the institutions in contributing to the delay in fixing fees ahead of admissions. It is the students who suffer when the fee gets revised midway through their academic year and the colleges start asking them to pay the differential, resulting in student unrest.

Normally, colleges are expected to submit their fee proposals, along with audited financial statements for
previous year, with the Samiti in April or May. This enables it to scrutinise papers and finalise the fee before admissions. R.P. Joshi, vice-president of the Association of Managements of Unaided Engineering Colleges (Maharashtra), the apex body of 122 colleges in the state, conceded that the institutions have to share the blame for delay in fee fixation.

Incidentally, the Pune Vidyarthi Griha's College of Engineering, headed by Joshi, is among the 14 city-based engineering colleges which have not benefited from the latest interim hike.

The association has called a meeting of representatives of its member colleges at Sakhar Sankul in the city on July 21 to deliberate on the matter, he said.

"We will ask all the colleges to stick to the Samiti deadlines," Joshi said. He pointed out that barring a few, most colleges have submitted their 2006-07 proposals. "It would be unfair to put the blame entirely on the colleges," he added.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Pune/Interim_fee_hike_for_engg_colleg...