Private engineering colleges seek hike in fees

The managements of private engineering colleges are of the view that arriving at an agreement with the government on the fee structure and seat sharing matrix for CET, 2013 will be difficult unless it considers hiking fees in private colleges.

Private engineering colleges are asking the government to hike the annual fee to Rs 80,000 to Rs 90,000 per — up from the present Rs 37,000.

“Teachers demand an increase in their salaries every year citing the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) guidelines and, it is impossible to pay them with the amount that the government is paying us.

To ensure quality education, we need to hire teachers with a PhD. And, none of them are willing to come without a salary of anything less than Rs one lakh a month,” M K Panduranga Shetty, secretary, Karnataka Unaided Engineering Colleges Association, told Deccan Herald on Thursday.   

A meeting was held on February 6 to decide on the issue of fees hike  and seat matrix.

A few officials of the Karnataka Examination Authority (KEA) and Rajneesh Goel, principal secretary, department Higher Education, held discussions with representatives of private engineering colleges. Higher Education minister C T Ravi and many private parties, however, were conspicuous by their absence. 

According to the All India Council for Technical Education, the admission process needs to be completed before August 1. “In states such as Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, engineering colleges get Rs 75,000 and Rs 80,000 respectively. In Karnataka, however, the government is not ready to shell out a penny more,” said Shetty. 

Grievances ignored

Besides the issue of fees hike, the government has not addressed other grievances of private managements such as the ongoing controversy over National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) that needs to be seriously looked at. Wednesday’s meeting was where all this was scheduled to be discussed, he said

 “The Human Resource ministry has said that accreditation will be mandatory for all institutes of higher education. Requirements of such a directive can be fulfilled only if the government cooperates in such matters” he said. 

Rajneesh Goel said that the minister will take a decision on when the next meeting will be held. “I will brief him on the deliberations of Wednesday’s meeting and bring to his notice the grievances and concerns of private institutes,” he said.