Maharashtra to review fees at 151 autonomous colleges after overcharging complaints

The Maharashtra higher and technical education department will review fees charged by 151 autonomous colleges for BA, BSc, BCom, and self-financed courses, Hindustan Times reported.

The decision comes after the Maharashtra education department received complaints from students about colleges charging significantly higher fees for the conventional courses, particularly the self-financed programmes, the report read.

The autonomous colleges were not allowed to fix their own fees, the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations allow the government to examine whether the fees follow the prescribed norms, it said.

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UGC Regulations 2023 for autonomous colleges

“Officials from the higher education department said complaints about high fees have increased with the growing number of autonomous colleges. Students have raised concerns about colleges charging significantly higher fees for conventional courses such as BA, BSc and BCom, particularly for self-financed courses,” the report added.

Some colleges charge around Rs 4,000 for traditional courses, but as much as Rs 60,000 for self-financed programmes, even when the same infrastructure was used, an official said in the report.

Following the students' complaint against the autonomous colleges, the higher and technical education minister Chandrakant Patil directed the higher education department to examine the fees charged by these colleges, the report said.

The UGC (Conferment of Autonomous Status Upon Colleges and Measures for Maintenance of Standards in Autonomous Colleges) Regulations 2023, states that autonomous colleges may fix their fees as per the norms prescribed by the state government or the relevant statutory councils, it added.

According to Shailendra Devalankar, director of higher education, mentioned in the report, that there are a total of 151 autonomous colleges functioning across the state.