Securing good ranks in EAMCET has proven to be a bane for engineering aspirants this year as they have to cough up at least double the existing fee.
In the new differential fee structure announced by the government for 67 colleges the hike has been three times in a few colleges and more than double in the remaining colleges.
Students who figure in ranks below 30,000 have been traditionally opting for seats in these colleges. Now the dilemma for them is to opt for these colleges in the web counselling or choose the colleges where the fee would be Rs. 35,000 as fixed by the government.
Plans go for a six
The new fee structure has certainly upset the parents’ plans. “The hike is too heavy to take for my father,” says Padma Priya, who secured 9,000-odd rank and was expecting a seat in VNR Vignana Jyothi College where the fee now is Rs. 88,900. Her choice of colleges’ fee is between the Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 90,000 fee band.
This is the dilemma of scores of parents, most of whom cannot afford such a huge fee hike yet also cannot completely ignore their wards’ keenness to join the ‘good’ colleges.
“The top 25,000 rankers should get some benefit from the government. Our wards can’t be equated with those who have secured a rank above one lakh,” says Ramachandra Reddy, a parent.
Counselling
“Even web counselling will go haywire with last year’s indications becoming irrelevant as parents will keep the fee factor also in mind and not just the rank,” he adds.
It was also observed from the previous years' records that a majority of toppers don’t avail of the fee reimbursement scheme as they can’t get fake income certificates easily.
So they have to bear the entire burden unlike students availing fee reimbursement who can get a benefit of at least Rs. 35,000.
Statistics show that about 80 per cent students avail fee reimbursement facility and majority of these figure in ranks of 50,000 and above.
College managements, however, aren’t afraid of losing “good” students as they feel parents are willing to spend for “quality education”.
“Few toppers will move away due to the fee factor,” claims Rajeshwar Reddy, Correspondent of CVSR College of Engineering.
