From the next academic year, students aspiring to study in any of Anna University’s four campuses and its constituent colleges will have to pay higher fees, which is expected to be around 20% more.
The decision to hike the fee was placed before the Syndicate and the financial committee.
Both approved the hike and the proposal has been forwarded to the government, said Vice Chancellor M. K. Surappa.
Justifying the hike, Mr. Surappa said the university had not reviewed its fee for almost 20 years, but complied with the recommendations of two pay commissions. The university had not got much from the government by way of grants, he noted.
“We have to account for inflation, the rise in the cost of equipment and increased number of faculty members. Even Central government institutions increase the fee periodically to improve infrastructure. We are only increasing nominally,” Mr. Surappa said. The university’s teachers association is supportive of the move to increase fees.
The association members said that while the government had taken over arts and science colleges, it had not done the same with constituent engineering colleges. Anna University has under its purview 16 constituent colleges.
“The university has the power to review its fee structure. The last time the fee was hiked was in 2002. We have been following the same fee till date,” said a senior faculty.
The university teachers say the government’s focus must be on acting on complaints of corruption against varsity officials. A three-member committee found evidence that two officials, including a former director of international affairs and a former additional controller of examination, had misused their office.