After the Indian Institutes of Technology, the private engineering colleges in Telangana are all set to hike their fee. Around 200 private colleges are currently on the last lap of fee fixation with the Admission and Fee Regulation Committee (AFRC), and officials privy to the discussion revealed that the fee is expected to see a hike of 30%; it will come into force from the current academic year.
The Telangana government had constituted the committee last year to fix the fee structure in the state’s professional colleges. While AFRC had received 258 proposals from private engineering colleges, the committee will fix the fee structure of only 200 colleges. The remaining colleges have failed to seek affiliations from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad.
As per the existing norms, fee for engineering colleges must be revised every three years based on inflation, income, and expenditure of each college. However, the last revision happened in 2013-14 and so the fee will be increased from the current academic year. “We are holding discussions with the colleges to decide on the fee structure for each course. The fee fixation is likely to conclude in a couple of days,” said Rama Rao, consultant of TAFRC.
Although the Telangana government provides full fee reimbursement to those securing ranks below 10,000 in the Engineering, Agriculture, and Medicine Common Entrance Test (EAMCET), officials believe that the hike may be a hindrance for many to seek admissions in top engineering colleges. “Fee hike may severely affect the prospects of aspirants who won’t be able to afford seats under the management quota. Even those who get ranks above 10,000 will have to spend a fortune as the government will only provide partial reimbursement to them,” said Ramana Rao, Convenor, EAMCET.
This year around, 1,43,376 will be vying for around 75,000 seats. Even aspirants, who will take the exam, rued that the fee hike will affect their choices. “After IIT fee hike, the state government’s move to increase the fee of all private engineering colleges proves to be a bane for several students like me. We will now have to perform or perish in the EAMCET,” said Challa Karthik, an engineering aspirant.