Mumbai, March 11 (IANS) Taking serious note of complaints regarding discrepancies in the college fee fixation process, Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil on Wednesday announced in the Legislative Assembly that a high-level inquiry committee, headed by a retired High Court judge, will be constituted to investigate the matter.
The announcement came in response to a calling attention motion tabled by MLA Mahesh Shinde, with MLA Prashant Bamb also participating in the discussion.
Minister Patil explained that, according to Supreme Court directives, the Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) is functional in the state. Colleges are mandated to submit audited financial reports for the previous year. Fees are determined by dividing the total approved expenditure by the number of students, and remain applicable for a three-year period.
The Minister said that several complaints have surfaced alleging that colleges are inflating costs. “Specific irregularities include claiming salaries for non-existent professors, including costs for construction projects that never took place, and general inflation of miscellaneous expenses to hike fees,” he said.
He further stated: “If the inquiry reveals a large-scale scam, the government will not hesitate to appoint a Special Investigation Team (SIT), file FIRs, or involve the Economic Offences Wing (EOW).”
To ensure a thorough and unbiased probe, a Deputy Secretary-level officer from the Higher and Technical Education Department will be appointed to oversee the entire investigation process, Minister Patil said.
He also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to education, noting that the state currently bears the fee burden for students from SC, ST and OBC categories, as well as for girls from families with an annual income of up to Rs 8 lakh.
“The government is committed to ensuring that educational institutions remain transparent and that no student is overcharged through fraudulent accounting practices,” he said.
–IANS
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