HC upholds higher fee for MBBS, BDS in Annamalai University : Times of India CHENNAI: The 76-year-old Annamalai University may have been taken over by the Tamil Nadu government in 2013, but MBBS and BDS students must continue to pay of 5.54 lakh and 3.5 lakh per year respectively as per the original private university fee structure. Annual fee for MBBS course in a government medical college is 12,290, and for BDS it is 10,290. In case of MBBS course in self-financing colleges it is 2.3 lakh-2.8 lakh, and for BDS it is 1.15 lakh. Citing this fee anomaly and noting that the Chidambaram-based Annamalai University too should charge only the fee collected by government colleges as it had been taken over now, some MBBS and BDS students filed petitions in the high court. On Tuesday, Justice V Ramasubramanian concurred with the submissions of advocate general A L Somayaji and upheld the universitys fee demand, saying it would amount to neither capitation fee collection nor profiteering. The fee charged by the university is authorised by the provisions of the Annamalai University Act. The fee structure is also necessitated by the financial position of the college, and justified by the income and expenditure account, the judge said, pointing out that in 2013-14, the Raja Muthiah Medical College under the university suffered a shortfall of Rs 18 crore. The University was established in 1928, and as per a unique agreement between the founder Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar and the local government, the founder and his family were given certain privileges as they offered to donate the entire land along with 20 lakh as cash. Due to the privileges, the universitys control always vested with the university for all purposes. Owing to wrong academic policies and indiscriminate appointments, the university witnessed upheavals after it failed to pay salaries to the staff in 2012. It was then taken over by the government. The students who joined MBBS and BDS courses after the takeover moved court as they were upset that the government was charging as per the private university fee structure. Justice Ramasubramanian pointed out that the students had accepted the prospectus which had mentioned the fee structure, and hence they are bound by its provisions. Prospectus is an invitation, application by student is the offer and admission of students is the acceptance, he said. Noting that these were less meritorious than those who got admission in government colleges and self-financing institutions, Justice Ramasubramanian said if their plea to charge the government fee structure is accepted, it would amount to an inequitable treatment of more meritorious students. He also noted that reducing the fee structure would sound a death-knell to the institution itself, and said, Today, it is financially in the intensive care unit and any attempt at reducing the fee structure would destroy the very institution.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 00:49:53 +0000
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