Many colleges mull fee cut as demand for BE seats drops

At least one-third of the engineering colleges in the state have sought a lower fee this academic year compared to that of the previous year.

Chairman of the Fee Regulation Committee Justice Shylendra Kumar said that these colleges, which had approached the committee housed at the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) have sought a fee of less than Rs 1.75 lakh, which is lower than the average upper limit fixed by the committee.

“There are around 200 engineering colleges in the state. Of these, at least one third these have proposed a fee less than what we have fixed. There was an upper limit of Rs 1.75 lakh,” he said.

This could be largely attributed to a lower demand for engineering seats in professional colleges, according to experts. The last academic year, after the KEA had completed its counselling process for engineering college seats in the state, 20,000 seats had remained vacant.

While some medical colleges have demanded a fee as high as Rs 44 lakh, the highest that an engineering college has quoted does not exceed Rs 5 lakh.

Some engineering colleges have quoted a fee that is less than Rs 50,000 a student per year. According to the Fee Regulation Committee, the highest fee has been quoted by RV College of Engineering at Rs 4.45 lakh.

“A few engineering colleges are doing well. These are located in Bengaluru, Tumakuru and Belagavi. Barring these, colleges have told us that seats are lying vacant as there is lesser demand. Students believe that there are fewer job opportunities and are exploring alternative career options,” said a senior official
from KEA.

M K Panduranga Setty, secretary, Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges Association said, “There are 212 engineering colleges in the state. Last year, 40% of engineering seats fell vacant. This time, it is expected to drop even further. This is because there is no employment.”

He explained it could also vary between colleges. “The quality of engineering colleges has come down. Engineering colleges are mushrooming. The better colleges follow AICTE norms for providing a certain salary for lecturers. They are colleges that have NAAC and NBA recognition. They are bound to charge a higher fee and provide better education,” he said.