Tirupati: Parents' body demands probe into fee structure disparities

TIRUPATI: The Parents' Association of Andhra Pradesh has demanded an investigation into alleged fee structure irregularities in newly-approved government colleges and their private counterparts.

The association's president S. Narahari, in a statement, said the State Vigilance and Enforcement and Anti-Corruption Bureau should examine why institutions recently approved by the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) are charging higher fees than older institutions for the same Bachelors courses.

Narahari explained, “While traditional degree colleges charge `12,000-`15,000 for Bachelors courses, newly approved colleges set fee of Rs 30,000 for BCA and BBA programs. Private universities are charging substantially higher amounts, with some demanding up to Rs 60,000 for integrated BBA-MBA courses and Rs 35,500-Rs 37,000 for BSc and BCA programmes."

The association questioned the criteria used by the APSCHE to approve these varying fee structures and demanded transparency. They highlighted that even private universities established last year are charging over Rs 42,000 for degree courses, with specialised programs like BSc Forestry costing up to
Rs 59,000. The association demanded a uniform fee structure across all colleges in Andhra Pradesh.