CHENNAI: The TN Government has informed Madras High Court that the panel headed by Justice N V Balasubramanian, retired HC Judge, had been authorised to fix the fee for diploma courses offered by self-financing polytechnics and hotel management and catering technology institutions in the State.
Adi Dravidar Welfare Director Sivashanmugaraja stated this last week in his counter-affidavit filed through Additional Government Pleader P Sanjay Gandhi, in response to a writ petition from the TN Unaided Polytechnic Managements Association.
Originally, the government on September 11, 2012, issued an order prescribing guidelines for granting concession under the centrally assisted scheme to all sorts of non-refundable fee components paid by SC/ST students. As per the GO, the amount eligible for reimbursement of fees in respect of SC/ST students under free quota seats was fixed at `6,500 and under payment quota, `21,700.
Petitioner submitted that before the issuance of the GO, the association’s member institutions were collecting `30,000 from all the students. It prayed for a direction to the government to revise the applicability of the GO in respect of polytechnics, so as to enable them to reimburse the existing fee of `30,000 for each student for 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Sivashanmugaraja submitted that in the wake of a new GO dated November 18 this year, authorising Justice Balasubramanian committee to fix the fee, the department was ready to comply with his recommendation, if any, regarding fixation of fee.
Further, he contended that the plea for reimbursement of `30,000 could not be entertained. The petitioner association was not supposed to collect `30,000 uniformly as the member institutions did not have the uniform infrastructure, investment, salary structure to teaching staff and plans for expansion.