The scheduled inspections by the state task force have not gone down well with privately-owned technical institutions that fear witch-hunt on the pretext of loopholes. The inspections, scheduled to begin from the third week of September, has elicited a strong response from the college managements, which allege being ‘targeted’ by the state machinery.
“We have agreed to a fee cut and given undertakings to accept a low fee of Rs 35,000 per annum for engineering students as per the clause 4 of the GO Rt No. 639, that states that only 83 colleges seeking higher fee will be inspected.
Despite the assurances given by the government, we are being threatened with inspections. We are educational institutions and not illegal business establishments,” said K.V.K Rao, chairman of the Vidyasamsthala Welfare Samithi (VWS).
The association along with the Consortium of Minority Colleges had submitted a representation to the government on Tuesday, opposing the impending inspections.
Around 3,166 colleges were a part of the representation which included pharmacy colleges, agreed to a fee structure of Rs 31,000 per year, and MBA/MCA colleges which collect Rs 27,000 as fee annually.
The task force committee has directed the private technical institutions to upload information as per the proforma on their respective websites and the inspections will be carried out on the basis of the information provided.
“There is no reason for undue concern. The colleges will be given time to upload the information requested in the proforma. We will inspect the colleges as per government orders. We do not have the power to shut down colleges and will submit only the inspection report which will be acted upon by the Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC).
We might also give suggestions to the colleges for improvement. The bodies such as the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) also inspect the colleges every year. The task force inspections will give accurate information to parents and students regarding the colleges,” said Ajay Jain, commissioner of the Technical Education and a member of the state Task Force.
The private colleges also point their fingers at the government colleges and polytechnics which have inadequate staff and being run on ‘ad-hoc’ faculty and consultants replacing full-time staff.
“Another point of contention is the compulsory web-based admission procedure for category B seats even in minority colleges.
While category A (convener quota) seats have a two-window system in these colleges, how can the government direct an independent system of admission for the category B seats,” questioned K.V.K Rao. The association representatives will meet the chief minister on Monday to table their demands.