Stating that financial implication for Perunthalaivar Kamarajar Financial Assistance Scheme for CENTAC-sponsored students is Rs 44 crore, Chief Minister N Rangasamy said steps were being taken to remit the fee on time in future. Replying to a question raised by Congress MLAs K Lakshminarayanan and A Namassivayam during the question hour, Rangasamy said that government would be constituting a monitoring cell to keep tab on the fees collected by self-financing colleges in the UT.
Rangasamy, however, ruled out the inclusion of parents in the fee committee and said that the committee had been constituted under a retired judge as per the directions given by Supreme Court. However, he assured the House to include parents in the monitoring cell.
Lakshminarayanan said that fees charged by institutions were high and disproportionate to their expenses and hence there should be provisions for raising objections in this regard. The fee committee should provide clarity on the details and the basis of arriving at the quantum of fee, he said.
AIADMK floor leader A Anbazhagan pointed out that students selected through CENTAC to colleges under the Pondicherry University need to pay only Rs 75,000 in addition to the fees paid by the government whereas CENTAC-sponsored students admitted to the deemed universities need to pay more than Rs 5 lakh. He urged the government to bring a uniform fee structure for CENTAC students in all colleges. The same fee should be charged by deemed institutions for the CENTAC-sponsored students also, the AIADMK leader said.
DMK floor leader A M H Nazeem wanted the government to withdraw the minority status accorded to the institutions which are not admitting students belonging to minority group. Further, he said the government should stop according minority status to colleges. He cited a college which has been accorded Telugu minority status, which is not admitting any Telugu students. Congress MLA Malladi Krishna Rao joined the chorus and said that for the past 10 years, Telugu students were being prevented from joining that college.