Mumbai: A college in Thane was asked by the Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA) to pay Rs 38 lakh (plus a fine of Rs 38 lakh). A Borivali college was asked to pay Rs 58 lakh. Both the colleges had deposited fees in excess of the amount prescribed by the FRA.
A trustee of Ahmednagar Nursing College paid Rs 50 lakh as an “act of repentance” to Tata Memorial Center for violating FRA norms. TOI had earlier reported that at least 19 employees held two or more positions in nursing and pharmacy colleges run by Ahmednagar Trust. During scrutiny of the fee hike proposal, discrepancies including showing a peon and a nursing college housekeeper as lecturers and heads of departments in their pharmacy college came to the fore.
The trustee of the college, Dr Prakash Kolpe claimed that the mistake was due to lack of knowledge of the process and urged the FRA to take a softer stand. Kolpe voluntarily offered to donate a substantial amount to organizations such as Tata Hospital Trust, which treats poor cancer patients.
All the four colleges of the trust are in rural areas and taking excessive steps will affect their interests. students, observed FRA. The authority decided to drastically reduce the fees of all the colleges. Against the claim of Rs 1.05 lakh for the Nursing course, the FRA approved Rs 54,000 for 2020-21, and in the second course, the fee is fixed at Rs 63,000 as against the claim of Rs 1 lakh. The authority also took a 25% cut in the salaries of all teaching and non-teaching staff of the college for violating norms.
The Nalanda Law College in Borivali, run by former minister Laxman Dhoble, was asked to refund Rs 58 lakh collected from students in addition to the FRA-fixed fees over a period of three to five years for the 3-year and 5-year LLB courses . . The college was asked to deposit money with the FRA and submit a detailed list of students whose fees were to be refunded. The college requested the permission of the authority to pay the amount in installments due to “poor financial condition during Covid”.
At the Institute of Management and Computer Studies, Thane’s Industrial Education Board, the FRA had acted on complaints received from students over two academic years. It was found that the college had charged each student Rs 53,000 in addition to the prescribed fees, and the college’s excuse for this was not grounds as per the FRA norms.
While the college was asked to refund an additional amount totaling Rs 37.9 lakh, the Maharashtra Unaided Private Vocational Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fee) Act, 2016 prescribed a similar amount as fine for violating norms. as imposed. The complainants were allegedly threatened to withdraw the complaints.
FRA Member Advocate Dharam Mishra said that the decision of the authority to penalize three colleges for illegal and manipulative by providing wrong information in fee revision proposals is keeping in view the interest of the stakeholders and also to set an example. For other colleges that resort to such malpractices.
A trustee of Ahmednagar Nursing College paid Rs 50 lakh as an “act of repentance” to Tata Memorial Center for violating FRA norms. TOI had earlier reported that at least 19 employees held two or more positions in nursing and pharmacy colleges run by Ahmednagar Trust. During scrutiny of the fee hike proposal, discrepancies including showing a peon and a nursing college housekeeper as lecturers and heads of departments in their pharmacy college came to the fore.
The trustee of the college, Dr Prakash Kolpe claimed that the mistake was due to lack of knowledge of the process and urged the FRA to take a softer stand. Kolpe voluntarily offered to donate a substantial amount to organizations such as Tata Hospital Trust, which treats poor cancer patients.
All the four colleges of the trust are in rural areas and taking excessive steps will affect their interests. students, observed FRA. The authority decided to drastically reduce the fees of all the colleges. Against the claim of Rs 1.05 lakh for the Nursing course, the FRA approved Rs 54,000 for 2020-21, and in the second course, the fee is fixed at Rs 63,000 as against the claim of Rs 1 lakh. The authority also took a 25% cut in the salaries of all teaching and non-teaching staff of the college for violating norms.
The Nalanda Law College in Borivali, run by former minister Laxman Dhoble, was asked to refund Rs 58 lakh collected from students in addition to the FRA-fixed fees over a period of three to five years for the 3-year and 5-year LLB courses . . The college was asked to deposit money with the FRA and submit a detailed list of students whose fees were to be refunded. The college requested the permission of the authority to pay the amount in installments due to “poor financial condition during Covid”.
At the Institute of Management and Computer Studies, Thane’s Industrial Education Board, the FRA had acted on complaints received from students over two academic years. It was found that the college had charged each student Rs 53,000 in addition to the prescribed fees, and the college’s excuse for this was not grounds as per the FRA norms.
While the college was asked to refund an additional amount totaling Rs 37.9 lakh, the Maharashtra Unaided Private Vocational Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admission and Fee) Act, 2016 prescribed a similar amount as fine for violating norms. as imposed. The complainants were allegedly threatened to withdraw the complaints.
FRA Member Advocate Dharam Mishra said that the decision of the authority to penalize three colleges for illegal and manipulative by providing wrong information in fee revision proposals is keeping in view the interest of the stakeholders and also to set an example. For other colleges that resort to such malpractices.
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