Fee in PU-affiliated colleges up 5%

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, December 10

The Panjab University (PU) Syndicate today approved a 5 per cent fee hike for its affiliated colleges in Punjab and Chandigarh. The hike is for both tuition and examination fee.

The Syndicate is the governing body of the PU. As many as 188 colleges are affiliated to the PU. The decision to hike the fee will impact close to 2.5 lakh students.

According to the minutes of a meeting of a committee held on September 29 under Prof RS Jhanji, Principal of AS College, Khanna, an overall 5 per cent hike was recommended in “all heads of affiliated colleges”, subject to a maximum of Rs 1,000.

The committee was formed for rationalisation of the fee structure. It reasoned that private universities had opened up degree courses and were attracting students while admissions in colleges had seen a downtrend.

“Providing better infrastructure, amenities, hygienic and conducive environment to students is a challenge for our colleges. As a matter of fact, in order to rationalise the fee structure for 2018-19, it is important to ensure enhancement of the fee up to a reasonable rate. If the fee is enhanced in a huge way, the number of students in affiliated colleges will further decrease,” stated the minutes of meeting.

Hike in fee for Panjab University depts deferred

The Syndicate was to discuss a 10 per cent fee hike, both tuition and examination fee, for 2018-19 for PU departments. However, it deferred the issue for bringing more parity in the fee structure.

A PU committee under the Dean of University Instructions, Prof Meenakshi Malhotra, had proposed a 5 per cent fee hike in all self-financing courses, except the University Institute of Applied Management Sciences (UIAMS) and MPharma courses in the University Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences (UIPS), for existing students and 10 per cent for new admissions.

The tuition fee of all traditional and professional courses was recommended to be hiked by 10 per cent subject to a maximum of Rs 1,000.

The user and maintenance charges of all courses across the board were also proposed to be hiked by 10 per cent. The committee also proposed to hike the examination fee of all courses by 10 per cent subject to a maximum of Rs 200 per semester.

Senator Rabindernath Sharma opposed the fee hike in PU departments. Following this, Vice-Chancellor Arun Kumar Grover said all Syndicate members should meet under him to discuss the issue.

Other decisions taken 

• The Syndicate has deferred the case of the transfer of Asst Prof Yogita Sirohi from the Panjab University Regional Centre, Muktsar, to Chandigarh. She has been seeking a transfer on the grounds that her husband is working in Mohali. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had sought comments from the PU on it as Ambala MP Ratan Lal Kataria had recommended the case.
• In the case of former PU Prof Vijay Chopra for doing business while being in service, the Syndicate will wait for a legal opinion.
• The issue of poor quality construction on the PU campus in the past 16 years has been deferred for the next meeting.
• The Backward Class quota has been doubled in affiliated colleges in Punjab from 5 per cent to 10 per cent.
• The Syndicate has referred the issue of the transfer of a son of a senior assistant of the establishment branch, who is pursuing BA LLB from the Hoshiarpur centre, to the University Institute of Legal Studies (UILS), PU, to a committee formed to resolve such issues. Earlier, fellow Prof Navdeep Goyal had given an opinion against it.