RAIPUR, Apr 3 THE crucial issue of fee fixation in private engineering colleges was a key task hanging in balance in Chhattisgarh even when the current academic session was coming to close. Next session was not too far away.

And with the Chhattisgarh Professional Examination Board declaring to conduct Pre-Engineering Test on April 9, as many as 11,800 odd students, to be selected through PMT, would stand to suffer. Private engineering colleges all over the State had charged two times the fees fixed earlier during admissions in the last season. State Government’s fee fixation committee has virtually defunct since it was constituted one year ago. On the other side, collecting double fees from students, huge money has come to private engineering college coffers. Students having taken admission in these colleges were compelled to pay the extra amount even after signing a bond issued by State Government that they would not be required to pay a single paisa extra. Students have thus turned offenders in the eyes of State Government. During the previous academic year, a sum of Rs 37,000 approximately, was to be charged from each student as fees by the private engineering colleges. The said amount was fixed some three years ago. In last three years, fees to be charged by private engineering colleges were not fixed and also the State Government showed a callous attitude towards constituting fee fixation committee in these years. On the other hand, after consulting each other, private college managements raised their fees and collected 70-75 per cent more from each student, complained a few of them, preferring anonymity. After this fiasco, which came into the notice of the State Government, it constituted a fee fixation committee. Also it directed the students during their admissions in last year, not to pay any extra amount as fees, till the committee fixes the same. But somehow the students could not withstand the pressure of colleges and paid the extra amount, alleged Chhattisgarh Engineering Students Guardian Association Secretary Ram Krishna Verma. Enquiries revealed that recently, private engineering colleges have again issued notices to students to deposit their fees, that too, at a unilaterally increased rate. The State Government, it may be recalled never increased any fees till date as it was yet to get fee fixation committee report.