HYDERABAD: Even after the commencement of new academic sessions, the students in engineering colleges are still unsure about the fee they are supposed to pay for their courses. Even though the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC), in a one-on-one discussion with colleges, had given the latter a go-ahead to increase their fee tariffs by 15 to 20 per cent for the 2019 academic session, the State government is yet to issue a government order (GO) detailing the fee particulars. This has reportedly created confusion among the students regarding the same.
Speaking to Express, Sharan Raichur of the Telangana Engineering Students’ Joint Action Committee (TESJAC) said on Wednesday that while exercising web options, they were informed only about the courses and available seats. “Even though the students were told that the fee structure has changed and that it has been hiked from last year, there is no clarity on the enhanced fee amount.
During counselling, the students were shown newspaper clippings on fee enhancement. However, the website still mentions the fee for the last block period. Students are facing a lot of trouble because of this,” he said. In addition, the parents and students are also worried that this might pave way for colleges to overcharge them.
This becomes relevant at a time when the JNTU-H authorities were forced to issue a communique to the private colleges affiliated to it earlier this month, warning the latter of stringent action against charging fees above what has been prescribed by the TAFRC. According to information, several private engineering colleges across the State are overcharging students in the name of library fee, lab fee, exam fee etc.
“Unless we know how much we have to pay for the course, how do we select the college? Yes, there is an option to opt-out of a college, but its too much of a hassle,” said B Adithya, a student. Meanwhile, private college managements are of the view that even though they demanded an enhancement in fee, TAFRC allowed only 15 per cent hike for those which collected more than `50,000 fee p.a. and 20 per cent for those that were charging lesser than `50,000.