The AIDSO Karnataka State Committee has strongly condemned the government’s decision to increase the fee by 10% for government quota seats in private engineering colleges.
In 2022, the management of private engineering colleges held a meeting with the Higher Education Department and the Karnataka Examination Authority and put forward a proposal to increase the fees of government quota seats in private engineering colleges and the fees of private engineering colleges by 10% every year. Accordingly, the fees were increased by 10% in 2022-23.
“At that time, State students and AIDSO had opposed the fee hike. As a continuation of the same undemocratic decision, the current State government has agreed to increase the fees by 10% for the present academic year and has said that confusion will be created if the decision of the previous government is reversed. This move of the State government has dampened the dreams of poor meritorious students of the State,” the AIDSO said in its press release here.
The fee hike for engineering courses is undemocratic and this process will gradually destroy the merit quota. Due to the already existing economic crisis, many students from lower middle class and poor families are moving away from professional courses, including engineering. “The fee hike is a big blow to such students. Fees should not be hiked for any reason and the government should play its role in ensuring higher education to all vulnerable sections of students,” it demanded.
The AIDSO Karnataka State Committee demanded that the State government immediately abandon the decision of increasing the engineering fees and called upon all students, parents and the public in the interest of education for the meritorious students to raise their voice against this “anti-people” policy of the government, the release said.
