HC fiat to engg. college on fees

By Our Staff Reporter

CHENNAI, JUNE 23. The Madras High Court has directed an engineering college at Poonamallee near here to collect only the ``statutorily permissible'' fee from students, and to credit the ``confirmation fee'' of Rs. 5,000 collected from them during admission.

Admitting a petition filed by 44 parents against the Arignar Anna Institute of Science and Technology, Mr. Justice Ibrahim Khalifullah, also ordered notices to the Education Secretary, Director of Technical Education, AICTE, Delhi, and the management of the respondent-college.

The petitioners' wards joined the college during 2000- 01 under the `free seat' as well as `payment seat' category and paid the requisite fees for the first year.

However, this year the parents were asked by the management to pay Rs. 82,900 for `payment seat' students, and Rs. 48,500 for `free seat' students. The authorised tuition fee, however, was Rs. 47,200 and Rs. 12,800 respectively. Apart from another Rs. 11,500 for transportation, the management demanded fee under various heads such as library, training, special lectures and laboratories, the petition added.

Contending that it violated the provisions of the Tamil Nadu Education Institutions (Prohibitions of Collection of Capitation Fee) Act, 1992, the petitioners alleged that the college itself was functioning from a make-shift building, and without full infrastructure.

Even though the institution reopened on June 12, the management refused to allow the students who have failed to pay the additional levies, the petition said.

It also sought a direction to the Education Secretary, the Director of Technical Education and the AICTE to take action against the respondent-college for ``levying and demanding fees in excess of the statutorily permissible limits''.

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