CHENNAI: Anna University has informed the Madras High Court that it has not collected exam fees that cost more than the actual expenditure incurred for conducting exams. It also said that it would suffer a major financial setback if not permitted to collect a minimum fee for cancelled exams.
Registrar of the university L Karunamoorthy in his reply said, “Nearly 4 lakh students appeared for exams, the cost of conducting which is Rs 37.11 crore. The entire process started much before cancellation order was issued by the State.” Anna University made the submissions before Justice Anand Venkatesh who heard a batch of pleas moved by students seeking to restrain the university from demanding fee for cancelled exams.
On August 21, the court admitted the pleas and directed the university to publish the results even if students did not pay fees. In the detailed reply to court, the University also said Rs 126.10 being the cost of each answer paper, Rs 150 has been collected from the students for each subject.
Also claiming that the University would suffer a major financial crunch if the students are not paying the fees for the cancelled examinations, the university said, “Registering for examination is mandatory for a student according to the regulations.
Students who have remitted the exam fee are only entitled to claim for their results,” said the registrar. The registrar also said that if a student does not come forward to remit the exam fee, it means they are not willing to appear for the exam. The court adjourned the plea to November 19.