Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday defended the hike in fees for professional courses in the State, even as his Cabinet colleague and Social Welfare Minister H. Anjaneya sought a reduction in the quantum of the hike.
Fees have been hiked by 18 per cent for engineering and medical courses in private colleges. The Chief Minister told presspersons that private college managements had been seeking a hike in fee for engineering, medical and dental courses for the last few years. The fee had not been hiked for the last four years. Therefore, a decision was taken to increase the fee, he said.
Mr. Anjaneya, however, said the hike would burden meritorious students belonging to poor families. “I will write to the Chief Minister to reconsider the hike,” he told presspersons on Thursday.
Mr. Anjaneya warned engineering and medical college managements against collecting fees (tuition, library, laboratory, sport, examination fees) from students belonging to backward classes and minorities (BCM) who produce income certificates. The government would directly reimburse the fees of such students to the colleges.
Students belonging to BCM category I whose family’s annual income is less than Rs. 2.5 lakh are eligible for fee reimbursement.
Similarly, students belonging to category 2A, 3A and 3B whose family’s annual income is less than Rs. 1 lakh are eligible for fee reimbursement in seats allotted under the CET quota.
The government so far has reimbursed the fees of 3.33 lakh students who pursued engineering, medical and other professional courses. A total of 66,000 students received scholarship of Rs. 1,500 a month for 10 months in a year under the Vidyasri programme.
The hike will burden meritorious students belonging to poor families. I will write to the Chief Minister to reconsider the decision.
H. Anjaneya,Social Welfare Minister