Point to Be Noted 2

Before filing the complaint, be sure about who your servicer provider is – the institute, the college or the university it is affiliated to. In recent times, a few complaints filed against the universities were rejected by the forums stating that the university was more into administration – issuing admit cards, conducting examinations and awarding degrees. On the other hand, colleges affiliated to such universities did get penalized for deficiency in service or for other reasons. There are rulings stating that universities while conducting examinations, giving admission to particular subjects and deciding fee structure are doing their statutory functions that are not services under Consumer Protection Act. Accordingly, a student cannot claim to be a consumer and say he should be admitted into the university to pursue a particular degree in a particular subject – it is only for the university to decide. Apart from the admission criteria, other aspects like the course duration, the fee structure and the availability of seats are to be decided by the university and its autonomy in this regard may not be challenged in the consumer forum. Consumers must note that each case is different from the other and there cannot be a common yardstick to measure or make a common statement about the admissibility of case under Consumer Protection Act.