Varsity fees buried under claims & counter-claims

The due, which is a percentage of post-graduate tuition fees, has to be deposited with the university every year, within a month from the last date for registration in first term and within a month of beginning of the second term.

The squabbling began in early 1998, when dues were first pegged at around Rs 70 lakh as reflected in a statement prepared by university’s Finance and Accounts Department in 1997-98. The statement, tabled at a Management Council (MC) meeting in April ’98, drew loud protests fromprincipals who claimed the figure was inflated. They said the amount, calculated by university as per its own records, failed to account for students who cancel admissions, switch colleges and include fees of SC/ST students who don’t pay fees at the time of admission.

Following the outcry, the university set up a four-member committee to probe the matter. The panel, which submitted its report in October last year, confirmed the colleges’ claims and reiterated the amounts against names of individual institutions were based solely on the accounts department’s register and weren’t verified from records of the post-graduate section. The department also imposed fines on dues, even in cases of discontinuation or transfer of students. As per rules, a penalty of Rs 15 is charged for every Rs 1,000 in dues not paid within a month from the deadline.

The panel, which curiously included the university’s finance and accounts officer, however pointed out that penalties have been levied on dues which haven’t beenverified. It said dues should be rectified accordingly.

The accounts department subsequently deducted penalties on dues from SC/ST students and after correcting certain other anomalies scaled down the total to Rs 44,28,020, Dr S G Dhakappa, member of the MC’s committee said. The revised statement was then tabled before MC in December.

But further protests from principals, who claim the university’s records are inaccurate, have necessitated another revision. Colleges have now been told to approach the university with their claims, Dhakappa says. Number of students on the college rolls could have changed, which may not be reflected in university’s registers, he explained.

“There was no synchronisation between the accounts and post-graduate departments, which delayed collection of dues,” said Dr M R Kurup, another panel member.

University Vice-Chancellor Dr Snehalata Deshmukh said the university has been sending frequent reminders to colleges but “they’ve been writing back explaining their problems.For instance, colleges get the government grant for SC/ST students much later, but that’s also included in dues,” she explained.

Other problems have arisen, she said, with colleges in rural areas saying that university’s involvement in their functioning being minimal, percentage to be paid to university is too high. Again, there might be problems with medical colleges as they’ve only recently been affiliated to the new Maharashtra University of Health Sciences at Nashik. The accounts department has also been saying correct records aren’t available with them, Dr Deshmukh says, adding dues will now be settled after colleges are given a chance to clarify. Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Naresh Chandra adds, “The correct figure will be arrived at after discussing with principals.”