Technical colleges told to submit audited financial statement

HYDERABAD: The Telangana Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) has issued guidelines asking technical colleges to submit their audited statements of income and expenditure and audited balance sheets from 20116-17 to 2018-19 (March) failing which, the fee regulatory said, the colleges will not be allowed to charge fees from the students.

The TAFRC revises the fee of all private unaided professional institutions every three years on the basis of the audited financial statement of the preceding two years and the projected estimates for the current year.
Private college managements, however, continues to rue this method of fee fixation. Their contention is that the fees for the next three academic years is based on the income and expenditure statements of this academic year. “Expenditure often rises due to inflation.

If we don’t get enough revenue the infrastructure and quality of teaching will also suffer,” said the principal of a prominent engineering college in the city.

A former member of the regulatory body told Express that taking into the account the parameters laid down in the guidelines were the best possible way to fix the fee. “ These guidelines are uniform across the country as they have been laid down by the by SC . We have fixed the fee for 500 colleges and the only five of these have been to courts,” he said on the condition of anonymity.  

The teaching staff in private professional colleges, however, allege that colleges have devised measures to hoodwink the authorities into believing that the teachers are paid as per the AICTE norms, contrary to their claim that they incur additional burden towards teachers salaries in case of inflation.

In reality, however, several colleges after they transfer the salary, make their teachers repay their additional money. “ This is a common practice and ensures that on records they show the salaries as major expenses when in reality, the actual pay is only a quarter of the pay as per the norms,” said R Chennakeshavulu, president of Private Engineering Colleges Faculty Association.

No members, chairman
Interestingly the TAFRC currently has no members for the last three months since the incumbent chairman, P Swaroop Reddy, retired HC judge, demitted the office along with the two other members.