Strict instructions on fee collection contrary to govt orders, overcharging will lead to audit

Yogi government is committed to making education accessible, affordable and transparent

Lucknow, 09 March (HS): State Higher Education Minister Yogendra Upadhyay held a review meeting in his office room in the Vidhan Sabha on Monday regarding the fees being charged by Lucknow University and affiliated colleges contrary to the government order. Various topics related to the fee structure, examination fees and financial management of the universities were discussed in detail in the meeting. In the meeting, the Higher Education Minister directed that the state universities should charge examination fees only as per the prescribed government order. He said that if any university charges examination fees more than the prescribed fee, then it can be audited and action will also be taken as per the requirement.

Minister Yogendra Upadhyay said that the state government, under the leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is committed to making education accessible, affordable, transparent, and student-friendly. He added that unnecessary fee increases make it difficult for poor and economically weak students to access education, and therefore, universities should make decisions keeping student interests paramount.

According to the order issued by the government, in order to ensure uniformity of examination fees in state universities, examination fees have been fixed per semester for different courses. Under this, the examination fee has been fixed at Rs. 800 for courses like BA, B.Sc., B.Com., BBA, BCA, B.Ed., B.P.Ed., B.J.M.C., B.F.A. and B.Voc., Rs. 1000 for courses like LLB, B.Sc. Agriculture (Hons.), B.Tech., Biotech and Rs. 1500 per semester for courses like BDS, Nursing, BAMS and BUMS.

The Higher Education Minister directed state universities to ensure full compliance with government mandates and maintain financial discipline. He said universities should also strive to strengthen their resources, introduce new courses, and improve financial management so that the institutions can become self-reliant.

In the meeting, officials and university representatives also presented their suggestions on the financial condition of the universities, challenges related to conducting examinations and possible solutions. The Higher Education Minister said that the Yogi government is ready to provide necessary support considering the actual needs of the universities, but compliance with government orders is mandatory for all institutions. MLC Umesh Dwivedi, Avnish Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary M.P. Agarwal, Secretary Amrit Tripathi, Vice Chancellor Lucknow University Prof. Jai Prakash Saini and other university officials were present in the meeting.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi