BENGALURU: Private colleges affiliated to Bangalore University, Bengaluru Central University and Bengaluru North University are allegedly demanding excess fees from students who have got seats for postgraduate courses, even under the university quota. According to complaints from students, some colleges are demanding 50 per cent more apart from the fee fixed by the respective universities.
Excess fee is being demanded in the name of library, laboratory, transportation, uniform and canteen facilities among others. “We are scared to file a written complaint as we will be targeted by the college management later,” said a student who raised an oral complaint with Bangalore University.However, Prof T D Kemparaju, Vice-Chancellor of Bengaluru North university, said, “Unless we get written complaints from students, it is impossible to act against the colleges.”
As per information from students and parents, colleges are demanding between `10,000 and `35,000 excess on the fees fixed by the universities.As many as 650 colleges are affiliated to the three universities and 70 per cent of these offer post-graduate courses.
For example, in all the three universities, the fee fixed for most of the colleges is for uniform. But colleges are demanding different fees under different heads. It is mandatory for affiliated colleges to collect only the fee fixed by the respective university and demanding excess fee is a violation of university rules. Most students, who have got seats in the first round counselling, have even paid the excess fee demanded by the colleges, fearing loosing the seat if they raised objections to it.
‘Can’t act without written complaint’
In 2009, then VC of BU, Dr N Prabhu Dev, issued an order to disaffiliate colleges which have been demanding excess fee. Following the circular, demanding of excess fees decreased for a few years, but it has started this year. However, authorities said they cannot act against such colleges without written complaints.