Minister Prasad says ready to roll back fee hike in KAU, orders readmission of dropped-out student
Arjun, the student, said he was not the only student to have abandoned studies owing to the high fees at the university.
Arjun, the student, said he was not the only student to have abandoned studies owing to the high fees at the university.
Arjun, the student, said he was not the only student to have abandoned studies owing to the high fees at the university.
Thiruvananthapuram: Agriculture Minister P Prasad has said that the government would ensure the readmission of VS Arjun, a student who dropped out of the College of Agriculture at Vellayani, as he could not afford the high fees. “The necessary instructions have been given to the authorities,” said the Minister.
“The student is eligible for a fee concession. The government will not make a decision that imposes a further financial burden on students. We are ready to roll back the fee structure if the student community is totally opposed to it,” he added.
At the same time, Vice-Chancellor of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) Dr B Ashok said that the fees were increased to improve the facilities for students and implement various scholarship schemes for students eligible for fee concessions.
“We can reduce the fees if the government increases its monthly financial aid by at least ₹2 crore,” he said. However, the university is yet to receive any assurance from the government in this regard, he added.
“KAU implemented the previous fee hike in 2014-15. Even though it was also decided to increase the fees by 10 per cent every year, that decision was implemented only once in the past 10 years,” said Ashok.
While welcoming the Minister’s intervention in the issue, the student Arjun, who hails from Puthuppady, said he was not the only student to have abandoned studies owing to the high fees at the university. “Some other students also had collected their TCs (transfer certificates) and left the college. All students should benefit from any fee concession. The fees should not be reduced for me alone,” said Arjun.
Arjun also said he was yet to decide whether to rejoin the Agriculture College. “Instead of continuing studies there, I am planning to secure a job by clearing PSC tests,” he said.
Responding to the issue, Dean of Vellayani Agriculture College Dr Jacob John said that he had personally spoken to Arjun when the latter applied for TC. “I had informed the student that he was eligible for e-grants schola₹hip and was exempted from paying tuition and hostel fees,” said John.
Meanwhile, it is noted that developments at KAU have certain curious aspects. While SFI, the students’ wing of the ruling party CPM, launched a strike against high fees at KAU, an institution under the Agriculture Department that has a minister from the CPI, a majority of the members of the academic council that decided to increase the fees are activists of CPM-affiliated organisations. The Academic Council has 25 members, excluding the Vice-Chancellor, of whom 14 are CPM supporters. In fact, the Academic Council, headed by the Vice-Chancellor, submitted the revised fee structure before the Executive Committee.
Fee for BSc Agriculture is three times higher than MBBS
Among candidates joining various medical and allied courses in government colleges in Kerala based on the NEET-UG rank list, the highest fees are paid by students of the Agricultural University. While MBBS and veterinary science courses have relatively high tuition fees, the current annual fee at the Agricultural University is three times that of these courses.
The annual tuition fees for major undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in government colleges in Kerala are as follows:
Degree courses
MBBS: ₹23,150
BDS: ₹ 20,840
BVSc: ₹24,013
BAMS: ₹13,230
BHMS: ₹1,260
BSc Fisheries: ₹9,850
BSc Agriculture: ₹72,000.
Postgraduate programmes
PG Medical: ₹57,890
MDS: ₹52,100
PG Ayurveda: ₹19,160
PG Homoeo: ₹10,500
PG at Kerala Agricultural University: ₹75,000.