Private BEd colleges to hike capitation fees

 GOUR BANGA UNIVERSITY TO CONTROL ADMISSIONS 

Statesman News Service 

MALDA, 19 APRIL: The authorities of private B Ed colleges affiliated to Gour Banga University in Malda, North and South Dinajpur districts want an increase in capitation fees for admitting the students which is above the amount fixed by the university authority. The university authority has opposed this demand if increasing fees and has decided not to allow the private colleges to charge more than Rs 45,000 as capitation fee per student.

The Gour Banga University had initially fixed Rs 41,000 capitation fee per student but the university executive council decided on 17 April to let the fee increase to Rs 45,000. The private college authorities are demanding that the fee be increased further more up to Rs 71,000 per student.

The GBU, which has decided to control admission to B Ed colleges – both private and government, though a central admission system henceforth and has already published an advertisement seeking application from the interested students for admission to B Ed.

The University will prepare a merit list of students on the basis of marks obtained and recommend students to take admissions in various colleges. Toppers of the merit lists would get the scope to enroll in government B Ed colleges where the admission fee is about Rs 2,000 per student. The GBU authority is under pressure from the private B Ed colleges on this issue. Several proprietors of the private B Ed colleges met the university authority recently asking the reason for such a decision was that taken without consulting the secretary of the private B Ed colleges. The university authority has agreed to allow the management of the private B Ed institutions to admit a specific number of students in quota.  “The management of a private B Ed college would enjoy the discretion to admit only 10 students from the merit list”, a GBU EC member said.

“We have told the proprietors of the private B Ed College that we were ready to discuss and settle all matters, but the capitation fee would not be allowed to increase”, said Mr Apurba Chakrabarty.

While the officer in charge, Malda government B ED College, Prof. Sakti Pada Patra, lauded the GBU decision and said: “The University has taken a good decision by introducing the central admission system. The decision would help many aspiring students”.  The private B Ed college authorities refused to speak on the matter.