SC tells Vasavi Engg College to adhere to fee guidelines

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the Vasavi Engineering College to collect only that fee which has been prescribed by the Telangana Admission Fee Regulation Committee, after the Parents’ Association of Vasavi College approached the Supreme Court seeking relief from the college’s pressure for additional fee and a direction to consider the examination fee of their wards.

The Telangana Parents Association welcomed the SC order as it was a big relief for the parents of the Vasavi College of Engineering. “As a result, parents who paid the fee as per the TAFRC need not pay any more. The college should not demand any additional fee from the students and their parents,” N. Narayana, State President of Telangana Parents Association said.

On November 2, 2018, the SC bench comprising of Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Vipin Saran allowed the Special Leave Petitions with a direction to TAFRC to submit its report and ordered the college that no student can be restricted from appearing in the examination.

The bench ordered the Vasavi College to collect fees prescribed by the Telangana Admission Fee Regulation Committee only. Moreover, the court made a comment that poor and middle-class students can be considered and the case was posted for December 4, 2018.

C. Srinath, president, Vasavi College Parents Association said, “This relief from the Supreme Court is the combined effort of our Vasavi Engineering College Parents Association. This result came from the tears of parents, who were not able to pay the fees and could not show their helpless condition to their children. It is a big relief for the common people.”

The dispute was between the management of Vasavi College of Engineering and the parents of its students. The dispute began at the time of admission for the block period 2016-17 to 2018-19. The management allowed tuition fee of `86,000 then, afterwards the management asked the students to pay `97,000 as per the GO 2 of 2016. Later, the management hiked the fee upto `1.6 lakh in the name of a High Court order. But, the government denied having revised orders to hike the fee. Since then the college has been asking the students and parents to pay the differential fee `63,000. However, the parents who were unable to pay the hiked fees approached the Supreme Court.