DINDIGUL: Students and alumni of the Mother Teresa Women's University have raised objections to the varsity authorities not releasing a fee structure for obtaining duplicate certificates, genuineness certificates, consolidated mark sheets and other services. They also claimed that employees from the institute were unofficially contacting them seeking payments through online portals to receive the certificates.
Speaking to TNIE, N Manjula (name changed) said she completed her under-graduation from a college affiliated with the varsity in 2008. "Later, I lost my UG original certificate and tried to apply for a duplicate one. The varsity staff asked me to pay Rs 2,000, and additional Rs 2,000 as search fees for each year that elapsed after my graduation. After TNIE reported about this in April, the staff said they would waive the search fees."
"Then I paid Rs 2,000 through DD and also Rs 3,500 as search fees. After a few days, I received a call from a varsity employee at 8 pm, asking me to G-Pay 5,000 for getting the authorities' signature for the certificate. I refused to pay for this and told her that my husband worked in the police department. Immediately, she cut the call. Anyhow, after that incident they sent me my certificate through post," she said.
Manjula added that this might just be the tip of the iceberg. "Believing the staff's demands and not having the wherewithal to lodge complaints, many students would have paid all the 'fees' that was sought," she further said. R Nithya (name changed), another alumnus, said she had earlier applied for a genuineness certificate from the varsity with regard to her Career Advance Scheme promotion. "After a long battle of six months, I was forced to pay `10,000 to receive it," she said.
In this situation where Mother Teresa Women's University is allegedly seeking thousands of rupees for issuing certificates, TNIE contacted Madurai Kamaraj University authorities to find their fee structure for similar services. "MKU collects `250 as search fees for each year that elapsed after graduation with regard to issuing original degree certificate. Even for this, we don't collect search fees if the student applies for it within two years of graduation," MKU Controller of Examinations (i/c) D Dharmaraj told TNIE.
Speaking to TNIE, Madurai Kamaraj, Manonmaniam Sundaranar, Mother Teresa, and Alagappa University Teachers' Association (MUTA) General Secretary GS Nagarajan said the State government had stopped providing the black grants, non-salary grants, and maintenance funds to the varsities. "So, the main sources of income for these State-run universities are examination fees and certificate issuance fees. This is the reason why these institutes commit 'daylight robberies' from students," he rued.
He further said the universities follow no uniform fee structure too. "The government has been taking good measures concerning school education. It should also give importance to the issues plaguing the higher education sector in the State. "The Principal Secretary of the Higher Education Department is a member of all State-run varsities' syndicates. It is a wonder how these institutes manage to charge such exorbitant fees from the students," he added.
Responding to the allegations, Mother Teresa Women's University Vice Chancellor Vaidehi Vijayakumar said they were only collecting search fees as per government norms. "In order to avoid a flurry of cash payments, the varsity has been encouraging online transactions. But, if the staff is asking students to pay the amount to their personal G-Pay accounts, it is a serious issue. I will definitely take action if this is found to be true," she said.