Panel wants fee cap, raids
The committee of experts studying the implications of the Supreme Court ruling on common fees for engineering colleges will submit its report to the government on Monday. This report will be examined by the GoM and referred to the CM for approval to enable commencement of Eamcet engineering counselling. The nine-member committee, headed by APSCHE chairman Prof. Jayaprakash Rao, is finalising the report based on its deliberations held on Saturday and Sunday with the officials of the finance and social welfare departments. The GoM is scheduled to meet on Monday to discuss the panel’s recommendations.
Sources said the committee has made recommendations to the government about tightening norms regarding the regulation of engineering colleges, fee structure and for providing fee reimbursement and scholarships to students. The committee also suggested that the government provide fee reimbursement and scholarships on ‘merit-cum-means’ method instead of the existing ‘saturation-basis’ method, which has been imposing a heavy burden on the exchequer.
The committee also sugested random raids on colleges to check whether the managements were complying with the undertakings stating that they will provide adequate faculty and infrastructure when they seek fee hikes, and to cancel the fee hike at any point of time if they are found to be non-compliant. Besides recommending an ‘upper cap’ over the amount to be reimbursed, the committee has also suggested extending loans to students. Meanwhile, the Consortium of Engineering and Professional Colleges Management Associations, has decided to file a contempt case against the government, if it fails to prescribe minimum fees of `50,200 for all BE colleges.
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