Technical education in Kerala is set to witness a significant fee hike. In an unprecedented move, the State government has decided to go against conventional practice to sanction an annual fee hike of 5% every year, commencing next batch onwards.
The Higher Education Department, through an order issued a few months ago, has accorded sanction to enhance “all the fees, including tuition fees, hostel fees, examination fees, university fees, etc. of all the students, including professional courses, studying in government, aided and government-controlled self-financing institutions and grant-in-aid agencies under the control of the Technical Education Department (Directorate) by 5% this year and thereafter every year (sic).”
The decision which was issued in September has largely gone unnoticed, surprisingly, in a State that had witnessed several violent agitations over fee hikes. Besides, policy analysts pointed out that the move contravened the institutional arrangement that had existed while finalising fee hikes. The government had neither constituted a special committee nor referred any such proposal to the Admission Supervisory and Fee Regulatory Committee. Moreover, the government has also encroached upon the authority of the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University (in the case of engineering courses) while ordering hikes in examination and university fees, it is cited.
Higher Education Department officials maintained that the hike was reasonable, as the last revision in the fee structure for B.Tech. courses had been implemented some five years ago. Besides, many self-financing colleges currently collected fees that were much lower than the agreed fee limits for management quota seats.
While it is also being claimed that the reservation category students were not bound to be affected as most were provided grants by the government, the move is likely to increase the financial burden of economically disadvantaged students within the general category, many of who availed themselves of educational loans to pursue engineering and other technical courses.
Commissioner for Entrance Examinations A. Geetha said the fee hikes would be implemented from the 2020-21 academic year onwards. While the increase in the application fee for B.Tech. courses will be finalised by the revamp committee during its meeting on December 19, the tuition fee structure will be finalised through a Government order that is likely to be issued ahead of the admission process.
ASC chairman R. Rajendra Babu told The Hindu that the move did not warrant the intervention of the panel. “For years, engineering colleges in Kerala have been charging much lower than those in other States. Considering the lower intake and the need for facility upgrade, the hike is within reasonable limits,” he said, pointing out that the committee intervened in cases when college managements charged exorbitant fees that were beyond the agreed fee limits.
Notably, not all stakeholders were in favour of the proposed hike. R. Sasikumar, Director of Cooperative Academy of Professional Education (CAPE), which controlled nine engineering colleges, said that any further increase in the tuition fees would adversely affect their prospects of filling up seats. While the CAPE was yet to take a decision in this regard, he said.
