Educational institutions refund excess fee after Fee Regulatory Commission crackdown

The FRC received complaints from 25 students who had taken admission to various professional courses.
| Photo Credit: file photo

As the Fee Regulatory Committee (FRC) issued stringent warnings to educational institutions collecting fees in excess of the government mandated structure, the Dr. Ambedkar Institute Of Technology refunded ₹2.12 lakh to a student from whom it had collected excess fee for a COMED-K seat. Although the institute initially refused to refund it, upon the intervention of the committee, the student got the money back, a release from the committee said.

Similarly, T. John College of Pharmacy had collected ₹50,000 from a student during the 2022-23 academic year, claiming it was for additional training in the BPharma course, and it was refunded after the committee took action. Money was also refunded to two other students.

Apart from these, several other institutions have also retracted their demands and adhered to the mandated fee structure, said the committee.

The FRC, headed by Justice B. Srinivasa Gowda, received complaints from 25 students who had taken admission to various professional courses, like MBA, MCA, and Nursing, through the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA) during this academic year. The students alleged that the institutions were demanding fee in the range of ₹55,000 to ₹4 lakh above the prescribed amount. The committee then acted upon those complaints and ensured that all the students secured admissions without paying the excess fee.

“Institutions such as Presidency University, AIMS IBS School, Acharya Institute of Management and Science, The Oxford College of Engineering, Brindavan College, Alliance University, IFIM College, Christ Academy Institute for Advanced Studies, Daksha First Grade College, and Don Bosco Institute of Management Studies had also made demands for excess fees. Similarly, Tumakuru and Davangere Universities, under the purview of the Higher Education Department, attempted to collect additional fees but later withdrew their demands,” said Justice Gowda.

The FRC also served a notice to Acharya Bangalore B-School which insisted that three students who had taken MBA admissions there should pay the additional fees despite its directives. The committee has demanded an explanation from the institution.