Job-hunting within campus a costly affair for students

Some colleges collect about Rs 8,000 from students for each offer

While junior students are care-free, those in the final year have their tasks cut out — they are planning which companies to apply to and how many job offers they will get, as their colleges charge for offers obtained through placement cells.

Depending upon the type of offers and the salaries offered to students, the sum collected by the colleges varies. While some of them at PES Institute of Technology pay Rs 3,000 per offer, their peers at SJB Institute of Technology (SJBIT) give as much as Rs 8,000 to 9,000 for each job offer.

A PESIT graduate says she did not have to fork out as much as those in other colleges did, but thinks colleges should not be opportunistic.

“I don’t mind paying for a job offer if I have to. Fortunately, PESIT does not charge exorbitantly compared to other such colleges as SRM Institute of Technology,” she said, preferring anonymity.

Some colleges such as Bangalore Institute of Technology (BIT) are known to charge higher sums as the number of job offers go up. Curiously though, the money has to be paid in cash or through Demand Drafts (DDs) favouring the college. A graduate had to pay Rs 8,000 for the only offer he bagged.

Colleges such as Oxford College of Engineering, Reva Institute of Technology and Management, etc, though, do not charge anything for the job offers a student gets through their placement cells.
 
Another stark difference among the colleges is the limit imposed on the number of job offers a student can get. For instance, PESIT restricts that number to two.

But many colleges do not place such restrictions. But what bothers the students the most is the receipts issued by the colleges for the payment made.

Often, the receipts conceal the expenditure head, but M R Doreswamy, Chairman of the PES Group, claimed the payments are received under the head “Facilitating Jobs”.

He argued that his institute was not making money out of placements but was only charging a nominal fee to recover the expenses incurred on arranging placement processes.

“We have a placement officer who works devotedly to bring companies and help students land jobs. Then we have to pay for hospitality and logistics of the event,” Doreswamy told Deccan Herald.

Doreswamy, however, insists that PESIT charges a total sum of Rs 3,000, irrespective of the number of job offers bagged by job-seekers. A former student who graduated in 2010, however, contested the claim and said she had to cough up Rs 3,000 for each offer she landed.

Dr Puttaraju, Principal of SJBIT, refused to comment on the matter when contacted over phone, affirming that he issued statements only in person.

H Maheshappa, Vice Chancellor of Visvesvaraya Technological University, has strongly condemned the practice.

Admitting that lack of guidelines prevented the varsity from acting against the colleges, Maheshappa nonetheless said the varsity could act only if a student approaches it. “Colleges are not supposed to charge such fee, but our hands are tied for lack of clear rules,” the V C told this reporter.

Colleges, on their part, insist they will have to charge the students as they were not bound to get them placed.