Panel set up to devise subsidised fee for students

A committee comprising the principal secretaries of the higher education, medical education and law departments, along with the members of private college managements associations, was set up on Thursday to devise ways to provide subsidised seats to poor and meritorious students in professional colleges across the State.

With the State government all set to implement the Karnataka Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Determination of Fee) Act, 2006, from the academic year 2015-16, it seems the government has now set its sights on making seats in colleges affordable for such students.

The government decided to keep the Act in abeyance for the academic year 2014-15 in the wake of widespread apprehension that the legislation may lead to a huge increase in fees for professional educational courses. Fears were expressed that poor and meritorious students would be left out due to high cost of seats.

Speaking to Deccan Herald after a high-level meeting held here on Thursday, Minister for Higher Education R V Deshpande said: “Along with officials from these departments, there will be five members each from ComedK and the minority institutes association. Economically poor students should not be deprived of seats and this committee will deal with how to make seats affordable,” he said.

Panduranga Setty, secretary, Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association, said the committee would work out a formula on how to make subsidised seats possible, once the fee structure is announced.

On the question of amending the Act, Medical Education Minister Dr Sharan Prakash Patil said the issue was being discussed with private college managements. Setty said the government was also looking at a provision to include seat-sharing in the Act.