Students leaving courses can demand fee refund

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http://collegecomplaints.blogspot.com/2010/08/aicte-online-complaint-tracking-form.html

This article was published in the Times  of India, dated 30 June 2010.

S PUSHPAVANAM


Several National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission decisions have directed universities, colleges and educational institutions to refund the fees collected from a student if he/she wants to wants to leave the course.

However, no institution does it voluntarily and parents are unaware that they can get a refund. Parents are also intimidated by the words fees are not refundable printed on the prospectus and are worried whether the college will hold back the original certificates. 

The state consumer redressal dispute commission Madras,on April 5,2004, held that tuition fees must be refunded when a student leaves the course. The terms and conditions on the prospectus do not form a concluded contract and are not binding.

In the Indraprastha University vs Vaibhav case,the Delhi state commission has ruled that the college should refund fees when a student leaves the course.This was again upheld by the National Commission in the N Arjunan vs Dean Merit Swiss hotel management case.

Educational institutions usually tell parents seeking a refund that they would suffer a loss if the seat remains vacant. There is no question of loss for any of these professional institutions if a seat becomes vacant when a student leaves.

Since they are run on an economically viable basis, the cost of education or fee is arrived at keeping 60% of seats as break-even point as is customary in any business. Also, the whole picture taking into account all courses have to be looked at to gauge profit or loss. That too, not just for that one year but for a period of five years, since they enjoy immunity from income tax as of now, freedom from property tax and lower electricity tariff, they can be regulated.

The Supreme Court,in the Islamia Academy of Education vs State of Karnataka College case,decided on August 14,2003,that in minority institutions, the college can retain the tuition fees when the student leaves midstream. This can be taken as a guideline and it can be stipulated that when a student leaves after 45 days (a semester has usually 90 days) the college can retain the tuition fees for that semester.

This problem of losing tuition fees is faced by thousands of parents every year as admission to the arts and science colleges close by the first week of June, private universities close admission to management seats by mid-June and engineering college counselling takes place in June-July. Since they are not sure where they will secure admission, anxious parents end up paying fees for two or three admissions if they get admission in the course of their choice.

The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), which regulates engineering colleges, has issued an order under section 10 (n) of the AICTE Act stating that tuition fee must be refunded and originals returned when a student leaves for another college. Write to AICTE, Sastri Bhavan, Chennai-6 if it is an engineering college or a deemed university.

The state has issued a GO No: 2729 (dt.17-12-1981 ), which says a student leaving an arts and science college to join a professional course is entitled to refund of tuition fees. This GO is outdated as self-financing engineering colleges had not come into being then. The secretary for higher education needs to issue a fresh GO to include self-financing,aided and government professional and arts and science colleges. The GO should specify that fees (except the registration fee) collected must be refunded if a student leaves the course, along with the original certificates. And that institutions can retain the fees if the student leaves 45 days after the college reopens. Publicity should be given to the order and institutions should be asked to mention this in the application form. This may empower the consumers and prevent exploitation of the ignorant.

(The writer is secretary, Consumer Protection Council of Tamil Nadu and can be contacted at consumerpc@rediffmail.com)