Thiruvananthapuram: The University of Kerala is keen on raising own revenues after it lost a major chunk with the ban on conducting distance education courses following the inception of the Sree Narayana Guru Open University. To make up for the loss it has decided to raise the number of management quota seats which fetch more fees from students.
To begin with, the number of management quota seats for Bachelor of Education (BEd) programme run by University of Kerala will be increased. It has been decided to transfer to the management quota 50% seats at the BEd centres that were opened three decades ago.
So far the BEd centres charged uniform fees. But from the 2022-23 academic year onwards, the fees for 50% seats would be Rs 35,000 and Rs 50,000 for the remaining management seats.
In another significant decision by the university authorities 10 BEd centres have been accorded the the status of self-financing colleges.
The slump in the internal income and the strict instruction from the government to increase revenue had prompted the university to allot 50% BEd seats to the management quota.
However, this, in turn, mars the chance of students from the economically weaker sections to study BEd at affordable fees.
Apply online separately
The latest notification published by the university says that separate application form for the management seats should submitted online by paying a fee of Rs 2,000.
The candidates could avoid submitting separate applications if they could choose the seats with high fees in the same application for the general seats.
There are complaints that inviting separate applications for the management seats would compromise the transparent nature of the admission process.