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Journalism of Courage
‘‘A medical seat costs Rs 27 lakh.’’
‘‘Sir, this 27 lakhs, kuch kum ho sakta hai (can it be reduced)?’’
So goes the conversation between The Indian Express team and P T Deshmukh, director of Terna Public Charitable Trust, run by Padamsinh Patil, Maharashtra’s powerful irrigation minister.
As the negotiations for admission to Terna Medical College dragged on one bright June morning, the principal urged the team to take the offer.
‘‘It will be Rs 32 lakh in a few days, you wait,’’ declared Deshmukh.
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Principal P T Deshmukh of Terna Medical College (above) said a seat could be had for Rs 27 lakh, the rate could go up to Rs 32 lakh WHAT HE SAID LATER: Told by The Indian Express that he was recorded on camera, Deshmukh said: ‘‘Ours is a transparent procedure. We are giving a receipt.’’ However, he added, ‘‘I did not say the rate could go up to Rs 32 lakh.’’ Reminded of the recording, he said: ‘‘If I have said that, I must have referred to the new fee structure’’ (which, by the way, hasn’t been decided yet) HOW HIS BOSS DISOWNED HIM: Irrigation Minister Padamsinh Patil, the chairman of the trust that runs the college, said: ‘‘I have not authorised him to deal with management-quota seats.’’ Apparently, the Boss’s word isn’t the last one. Story continues below this ad |
What’s happening in Maharashtra is a subversion of unfolding laws by many private medical and engineering colleges which are simply selling their seats to the highest bidder.
Regulatory authorities? They aren’t functioning yet. The government? Many of the state’s engineering and medical colleges are controlled by the same ministers and legislators responsible for regulating fees. Merit lists, centralised admissions? Don’t worry. At colleges like Terna, just get 50 per cent, pay up, and your seat is assured.
Like most bazaars, the only thing that talks is money. The investigative team, equipped with concealed cameras, walked into four colleges in Navi Mumbai without appointments, marksheets, or any hindrances, to bargain with principals (difficult for medical, easy for engineering).
The fig leaf behind which many of the 137 private engineering and 17 private medical colleges—they will together admit about 2 lakh students—hide is a December 2002 Supreme Court judgment that freed fees from state control (see side story). But the court also said capitation fees are illegal, and bars colleges from ‘‘profiteering’’.
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THE PRICE Story continues below this ad |
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There are two categories of engineering and medical students: General and management quota. |
But for many colleges, the court’s ruling, it seems, exists only on paper.
Private colleges have now submitted a fee structure to two authorities set up after the December judgment to regulate engineering and medical education.
The Medical Education Regulatory Authority (MERA) and the Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (EIRA) were set up by a government whose ministers and legislators do not believe that their control over the state’s medical and engineering colleges creates a conflict of interest.
Take Industries Minister Patangrao Kadam, whose college was one of those investigated. He was on a subcommittee that drafted the higher-education policy after the Supreme Court judgment.
‘‘All the fees must be approved by EIRA, the colleges must justify them,’’ A D Sawant, EIRA Secretary, told The Indian Express. ‘‘Some colleges have submitted engineering fees of Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh for management-quota seats. Fees should not be more than this.’’
Yet, the investigative team found colleges charging Rs 4 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. Clearly, colleges simply aren’t bothered about the authorities. Sawant warned that if fees charged are higher than approved, ‘‘colleges will have to pay refunds’’.
Education Minister Digvijay Khanvilkar said the government was waiting for another court judgment and asked students ‘‘not to panic.’’ He told The Indian Express: ‘‘We do not allow anyone to take capitation fee…but the management quota is always there.’’ Not that the Supreme Court didn’t think of profits for these colleges. ‘‘A reasonable surplus for the furtherance of education is permissible,’’ the Court observed.
‘‘A just management fee covering the expenses incurred on development and infrastructure as well as the compensation for concessions to weaker sections is acceptable,’’ noted Naresh Chandra, former pro-Vice Chancellor of Mumbai University and now Chairman of the Association of Principals. ‘‘Maybe 10 per cent more in city like Mumbai is okay. It cannot be 100 per cent more.’’
Actually, these surpluses spiral upto 1,000 per cent more than the expenses that colleges have themselves listed with the regulators, The Indian Express investigation showed.
‘‘The Supreme Court verdict is being misused by these institutions to gain quick revenue. It is a sellout of engineering and medical seats and a collapse is in the offing,’’ says C R Sadasivan, general secretary of the Maharashtra Federation of University and College Teachers’ Organisations.
He squarely blames the private unaided education institutions for exploiting the mess and the state government that failed to act though it had the powers to do so.
At the Bharati Vidyapeeth, run by Kadam, the government’s instructions to hang on until the new regulatory authorities take a decision on the new fee structure are nowhere in evidence.
Not only are seats sold out for this year but also the next!
Of course, there are government and state-aided engineering colleges available to meritorious students, but there are only 17 of them, and some of them are in a shoddy state. The handful that are top class, like the Veermata Jijabai Technical Institute (VJTI) in Mumbai, will take you in only if you’ve scored around 90 per cent marks.
For the rest, make your bid.
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WHEELING, DEALING IN THE EDUCATION BAZAAR |
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• Ramrao Adik Inst. of Tech, Nerul, Navi Mumbai Run by: D Y Patil Group. Patil is a former Congress MLA and leads the D Y Patil University, a deemed university. Story continues below this ad WHAT THEY SAID ON CAMERA: WHAT THEY SAID LATER: Shende flatly denied charging Rs 10 lakh for management-quota seats: ‘‘It is not true. I don’t know how you arrived at this figure. I am not authorised to decide on admissions. I look after administrative matters. The management quota admissions are decided at our Worli office. You contact Mr Bhagwat.’’ Satej Patil, a trustee, said that the Rs 10 lakh quoted by Shende was for the entire course. ‘‘That includes tuition fees, hostel fees and other expenses,’’ he said. Reminded that colleges were not authorised to collect fees at one go, he quickly added: ‘‘The fees will be collected every year.’’ All medical admissions depended on the outcome of pending court cases, Patil said. • Terna Medical College, Navi Mumbai Run by: Terna Public Charitable Trust of irrigation minister Padmasinh Patil. (Principal P T Deshmukh who is also director of the trust says a management-quota seat will cost Rs 27 lakh, inclusive of tuition fees, for the entire 4.5 year MBBS course. Don’t wait, he warns, the amount may go up to Rs 32 lakh) Story continues below this ad WHAT THEY SAID ON CAMERA WHAT THEY SAID LATER • Bharati Vidyapeeth, Belapur, Navi Mumbai Run by: Industries Minister Patangrao Kadam, who was also a member of the cabinet sub-committee that decided how the Supreme Court order would be implemented. Principal Vilasrao Kadam, also a director of the Vidyapeeth, says an engineering seat from the management quota will cost Rs 4 lakh. As for management-quota medical seats, they were full, even for next year! WHAT THEY SAID ON CAMERA WHAT THEY SAID LATER Told he was on camera talking about booking medical seats, he said: ‘‘Maybe I wanted to avoid people seeking admissions.’’ |
