Plea to hike NRI quota in self-financing colleges

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JULY 10. Self-financing engineering colleges in Tamil Nadu have urged the State Government for increasing the NRI intake in the colleges to 15 per cent.

The Tamil Nadu Self-Financing Engineering Colleges Association (TNSECA) wanted the increase ``in the light of the hardship experienced by the self-financing engineering colleges due to loss of fee because of seat vacancies and increased expenditure''.

The association, in a statement, said while there were 34,000 seats in self-financing engineering colleges, in reality about 5,000 `payment' category seats remained vacant last year. The recent approval by the State Government for additional five per cent NRI seats was no match for the loss of fees due to 14 per cent seat vacancy. Karnataka allowed 15 per cent NRI seats, while hitherto it was only 5 per cent here.

Even the Dr. B. Ilango committee, which fixed the fee per student per year, recommended 15 per cent for NRI quota, ``for removing the hardship of loss due to low fees for the general category seats''. After repeated requests, the Government had now approved only 10 per cent for NRIs.

The association contended that even three years ago, the per student per year expenditure was estimated at Rs.45,000. Now the AICTE pay scales had been implemented ``by most of the colleges. The yearly increment has increased the cost heavily. Further, the Government has increased the D.A. upto 37 per cent.

In the light of these facts, the public need not have any misgivings in the marginal increase of five per cent of NRI seats'', it added.

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Section  : Southern States
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