Pvt engg colleges draw flak for ‘unethical practices’ and fleecing students to cash on fee reimbursement

K M Dayashankar

Some engineering colleges running junior colleges holding certificates demanding students to join their professional colleges

Students’ union leader flays private colleges for degrading noble education into business at the cost of bright career of students

Private engineering colleges are only worried of cashing on fee reimbursement and not about providing quality education

KARIMNAGAR:  Gone are the days when some private engineering colleges across the integrated Karimnagar district resorted to the illegal methods of appointing ‘PROs and consultants’ to facilitate enrolment of students by hook or crook by offering several freebies to students only to cash on the fee reimbursement scheme.

Now freshly they had started resorting to another ‘cheap technique’ of literally demanding the junior college students join their own engineering college to avail the sops of Rs 10,000 fee concessions or else they would have to pay the complete fee for the Intermediate education and holding back their certificates.

Though the junior colleges had not conducted any physical classes during the last two academic years due to the outbreak of the pandemic virus and conducted only online classes, they were demanding the students to pay the complete fees for the issuance of their certificates to go in for further higher education including engineering and other degree courses.

The private junior colleges had informed the students that they would charge Rs 80,000 for the course if they conduct physical classes and Rs 65,000 for online classes. Now, they had been demanding the students to pay the complete amount of Rs 80,000 plus Rs 10,000 extra for practical classes’ laboratory fees (without conducting any lab classes). If they want their certificates to go into further higher studies, then they have to join their own engineering colleges and avail themselves of fee discounts and other concessions.

A parent of a girl student of a junior college in Karimnagar town alleged that the college management had promised to collect only Rs 65,000 for the course if it was online classes. But now they were demanding Rs 80,000 and an additional Rs 10,000 for laboratory fees for the conduct of practical classes. “How the college could charge for practical when it had not conducted any physical classes during the last two academic years”, he asked.

A girl, who studied in a junior college owned by an engineering college, said that “I am not interested to join their engineering college because of poor quality of education. But they are forcing me to join their college by holding all my certificates and announcing concession of Rs 10,000 so that they will get the fee reimbursement till the completion of my four-year course”, she stated.

She said that the college management was holding back the certificates of several hundreds of students and demanding them to join their own engineering college to avail all the freebies and fee concessions.  “We are not given any chance to choose our own choicest college for quality education for our bright career”, she stated and flayed the district intermediate board authorities for remaining mute spectators in spite of known all illegal activities of some engineering colleges owning the junior colleges.

The students also alleged that the junior college managements were not allowed them to take up their choicest web options by holding back the certificates with them and demanding them to join their own colleges. The private engineering colleges are worried only about the enrolment and cash on the fee reimbursement scheme of the state government at the cost of the bright career of the students, they alleged.

An SFI activist, who staged a dharna in front of the district intermediate education office in Karimnagar town on Tuesday, has flayed the management of private engineering colleges for resorting to unethical practices and converting the noble education into business at the cost of the students’ career. He charged that some private engineering colleges for their selfish gains have degraded the education system and warned of launching agitations against their illegal activities.

hindudayashankar