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Updated on: Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Earlier this week, the Higher Education Minister, V.S. Acharya, confirmed that a fee hike is imminent for engineering courses in Karnataka. While he is confident that the hike will be “marginal”, going from the noises emanating from the other camp, i.e. private college managements, the hike will be anything but minimal.

Representatives of private college managements have gone on record about their demands: they are asking for a fee hike to be to the tune of 50 per cent, and are also suggesting that the government quota be scrapped. They prefer the fee structure that has been calculated by the Fee Fixation Committee, that has reportedly taken into account the expenditure records and future estimates submitted to it by colleges. Sources among private managements say that the recommended fee varies between Rs. 60,000 and Rs. 1.5 lakh, depending on the size of the college.

However, the government has repeatedly asserted that the Fee Fixation Committee will definitely not come into the picture. While the government announced that having passed the Bill on the consensual agreement in the Legislative Council, they are all set to negotiate and finalise, it appears that the government does not realise the complexity of the situation. A representative of a leading engineering college says: “The Minister does not appear to realise that we are not going to bend that easily. We are adamant about our demands this time. Merely increasing the fee by a few thousands will simply not do this time.”

Share of woes

Of course, the private managements have their share of woes or issues to deal with. Mounting costs, and most importantly the fact that they are all liable to implement the increased AICTE pay scales (up by over 40 per cent) makes their annual costs bloat by a big number. “Last year the government quota fee was increased by just Rs. 5,000. Further, we even had to give a subsidy of Rs. 10,000 for poor and meritorious students. These subsidies cannot stay. While some of the bigger colleges can manage to survive on the remaining 50 per cent management seats and the NRI quota, the smaller colleges can definitely not survive. Not with the existing fee structure,” says the principal of a Bangalore engineering college. The government's complacency on the issue is inexplicable, he adds.

It must be pointed out that the fee structure in Karnataka is already fairly high. With the exception of the “poor and meritorious quota” (students whose parents earn less than Rs. 1 lakh per annum), all students who seek admission under the government quota, where the fee is subsidised, pay Rs. 30,000 per annum. This means the fee is Rs 1.2 lakh for the entire duration of the course. This accounts for 50 per cent of the seats in private colleges. As for the remaining 50 per cent, the fee is capped at Rs 1.2 lakh per annum. Compared to other States, the fee structure is indeed high.

Unfilled seats

In 2010, over 13,000 engineering college seats remained unfilled. Many of these were new colleges, and those in rural areas. Several experts attribute this to the mounting fee, which renders engineering education – a much coveted field, for it is perceived as a window to a job – inaccessible to a large section of society.

Last year, we saw the private college managements differ on their demand for a fee hike. A forum representing newer engineering colleges appeared on the scene, and even appeared willing to hand over all its seats to the government quota; for, its management seats were simply finding no takers. Is this steep decrease in demand, over the last three years, attributable to the high costs of education?

In neighbouring Andhra Pradesh, no less than 70 per cent of student fees is reimbursed by the government. Despite having more than three times the number of engineering colleges, almost all the seats are filled.

Educationists in Karnataka feel that if more students are to be attracted, the State must take on the burden by subsidising the education of a substantial section of students.

“While those belonging to the middle class somehow manage to take loans for the purpose, those from a weaker economic background cannot dream of taking a loan or raising the money. Despite high ranks, many are forced to stay away,” says Govinda Rao, a Pre-University College teacher from Kolar.

Though he coaches students for the entrance exam, he says that most of them do not realise that this is an expensive affair. Mr. Rao points out that the expenditure only begins with the fee, and knows of students who have dropped out in the second year. Further, the coaching provided in many of the smaller colleges is poor, and students lose hope mid-way through the course, he explains. “I know of three students from my last year's class who have done so.”

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