Last updated time: 19 March 2023, 17:19 IST
The UGC chief also pointed out that DU has set an example for other universities on how to handle such student complaints and refund fees (File photo/News18)
The UGC chief shared the statistics and said that the recovered amount is being paid to 14,443 students
According to chairman M Jagadesh Kumar, the University Grants Commission has recovered Rs 30 crore from universities across the country, including around Rs 17 crore from Delhi University, to refund canceled or moved admission fees during the 2022-23 academic session.
In an interview to PTI, the UGC chief shared the statistics and said that the recovered amount is being paid to 14,443 students. “Most of the students come from economically weaker groups. They should have the freedom to apply to a better university, but they may not have the financial means unless they get a refund from the university they were admitted to earlier,” Kumar said.
“We are getting a lot of complaints from students, based on which we are talking to the universities and ensuring that the amount is refunded. Of course, there are many universities that refund the fees on their own as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, but we have to intervene in the case of multiple universities, so Rs 12.14 crore were refunded to 832 students. those admitted to central, state, private or deemed universities,” he added.
The UGC had earlier mandated that full fees, including all payments, should be refunded by October 31, 2022 for cancellation or transfer with zero cancellation fee. After that date and till December 31, 2022, institutions were allowed to deduct not more than Rs. 1000 as processing fee.
“The UGC has taken serious note of complaints and court cases filed by students and parents against institutions violating these guidelines. The UGC has reiterated that the guidelines must be strictly followed and any institution violating them will face punitive action,” Kumar said.
The UGC chief also pointed out that Delhi University (DU) has set a precedent for other universities in resolving such student complaints and refunding fees.
“DU successfully disburses Rs 16.95 crore to 13,611 students. Thus, UGC has recovered a total amount of Rs 29.10 crore from 14,443 students,” he said.
Among the complaints received by the University Grants Commission, 381 are related to listed universities, 243 to state universities, 165 to private universities and 26 to central universities.
“More than 300 student fee refund complaints, including 177 complaints against state universities, are still pending and we are talking to the institutes concerned,” Kumar added.
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(This story was not edited by News18 staff and was published by a syndicated news outlet)
