The Tamil Nadu government on Thursday fixed ₹50,000 per annum as the overall fee for students (both for those admitted through counselling and through management quota) in colleges affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), accepting the recommendations made by retired High Court judge K. Chandru.
This is also the first time that students admitted through counselling (government quota) and management quota have to pay the same fee. “The Supreme Court has said there should not be any difference between students admitted through counselling and those admitted through management quota,” Justice K. Chandru told The Hindu .
The committee, after taking into account the overall circumstances, also observed that any kind of fee under different heads such as special fee, library fee, laboratory fee, audio-visual education fee, games fee, computer fee, National Cadet Corps/National Service Scheme (NCC/NSS) fee, sports fee, guest lectures fee, cultural event fee and placement and competitive fee that was being collected, “is prohibited”.
The overall fee of ₹50,000 per annum for two semesters would be allowed to be paid either completely for the year or in two instalments — one payment for each semester, the State government said in a G.O. issued on Thursday.
The private colleges affiliated to the TNAU shall be allowed to collect a one-time fee of ₹5,000 towards caution deposit apart from the fee fixed per annum, which should be refunded when the student leaves the institution.
“It is made clear that other than the fee and the caution deposit, no other fee of any kind shall be collected,” the G.O., issued by Agriculture Secretary Gagandeep Singh Bedi, stated.
In line with the retired judge’s recommendations, the State government has decided to consult the TNAU Registrar on other allied matters, including hostel and mess fee. It would also examine the committee’s recommendation in regard to payment of the fee for 2020-21 academic year.
