Colleges should not demand fee payments from students until the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown is lifted, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) said on Wednesday.
"It has come to knowledge of AICTE that certain standalone institutions are insisting that students should pay the fees, including admission fees, during the lockdown," said a letter to all AICTE institutions from Member Secretary Rajive Kumar. "It is clarified that colleges/institutions should not insist on payment of fees till the ongoing lockdown is lifted and normalcy is restored."
Prof. Kumar added that AICTE would issue further guidelines on the revised fee payment timelines. All institutions were directed to display this information on their websites and communicate it to students via email as well.
AICTE and the University Grants Commission (UGC) will also issue a revised academic calendar soon and Prof. Kumar directed colleges to continue online classes for the current semester under the extended lockdown. UGC has constituted a committee to make recommendations on the conduct of semester examinations, award of marks and passing criteria, the letter said.
Students who are not able to pursue their summer internship requirements due to the lockdown have been advised to try internships via work from home, but AICTE has also extended the deadline for fulfilling internship requirements until December 2020.
