Private engineering colleges move HC over fee, seat sharing

After having refused to sign the consensual agreement with the State government on the issue of seat sharing and fee structure, more than 10 private engineering colleges have now moved the High Court. 

The matter will come up for hearing before a division bench on Friday. 

Sources said private colleges moved the court as they wanted the state government to fix the fee as per the Fee Regulatory Committee’s decision. The committee is headed by former High Court judge Justice Ajit J Gunjal. 

While the committee was constituted as per the provisions of the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006, the status of the committee remained undecided after the government decided to keep the Act under abeyance for the academic year 2014-15. The colleges have already submitted their audit reports to the committee for fee fixation based on the costs incurred by each college.

Consensual agreement

Last week, the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association (KUPECA) categorically stated that it would not sign the consensual agreement with the government unless the fee was increased. 

However, KUPECA secretary M K Panduranga Setty told Deccan Herald on Thursday that the association was not part of the petition, though the petitioners are members of KUPECA. 

“The association has not taken any decision to move the court,” he clarified. Sources said that around 12 to 13 colleges have filed the petition. 

A KUPECA member said: “We waited for the government to resolve the matter. They have not replied to our representation. The managements were not hopeful that the government would address the issue anytime soon. The colleges cannot function with the existing fee structure.”