“The institutions will have to refund the entire fee, after a deduction of processing fee of not more than Rs 1,000, in case the student withdraws before the beginning of the programme,” said the regulatory body in a public notice on Thursday.

Fee confiscated

Often the students complained that the institutes had confiscated their entire fees even if they opted out of the course before beginning of the session. In some cases, the institutes even confiscated original marksheets and other relevant documents. But the AICTE had clearly said in its directive that technical institutions and deemed universities would not be able to trap students by charging the full course before the beginning of a programme.

The AICTE, which has issued the notice with a view to prevent “commercialisation of technical education”, regulates institutions imparting education in the field of management, pharmacy, computer application, engineering, architecture etc.  The regulatory body also clarified that if a student leaves the college after joining the course, the institution would be required to return the fee with proportionate deductions of monthly fee and hostel rent provided the vacancy has been filled by another candidate.

The AICTE said “it would not be permissible for institutions and universities to retain the school/institution leaving certificate in original”.