CAG audit finds colleges overcharging students

The Hindu

29-04-2025

An audit of records of the regional joint directorates of collegiate education by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has found that aided and self-financing colleges in Tamil Nadu have overcharged students for applications, undergraduate or postgraduate programmes.
The Directorate of Collegiate Education issues annual guidelines that colleges can charge ₹48 as application fee for UG courses and ₹58 for PG courses. Colleges may charge a registration fee of ₹2 from each applicant. The application fee is waived for SC/ST students.
The CAG report for the year ended March 2023, tabled in the Assembly on Tuesday, said a scrutiny of records of data from 95 aided and self-financing colleges functioning under the eight regional offices of the Directorate of Collegiate Education for the period 2021-24, found that 72 colleges had collected more fee, ranging from ₹50 to ₹545, from 1,29,579 applicants, other than SC/ST category. It resulted in an excess collection of ₹1.34 crore.
As many as 16 colleges collected ₹1.28 crore as application processing fee from 82,389 applicants. The audit found that the overall excess collection amounted to ₹3.14 crore in July 2022. On why action was not initiated, the government replied that as per the T.N. Private College Regulations Act it had no powers to control the self-financing colleges.
The CAG pointed out that Section 28 of the Act empowered the government to ensure that 'charge or payment specified by the competent authority (means authority, officer or person empowered by government) is collected.' The CAG maintained that all the colleges are bound to follow the government order. The government responded that as the students of 2019-20 to 2021-22 would have left the college after completing the UG course, refunding the fee would be difficult.
The CAG recommended that strict instructions be issued to colleges to collect only the prescribed fees and take steps to direct the colleges to refund the excess fees collected.
Unused buildings
The CAG found that a government polytechnic college in Ambalakaranpettai Melur in Madurai district under the Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE) had built the principal's quarters and a guest house, but not a compound wall for the institution.
The college built an auditorium worth ₹60.93 lakh but barely used it. A guest house, principal's quarters, and sports club/gym built at a cost of over ₹1.18 crore remained unused for over six years. Only 13% of work on the compound wall that would ensure the safety of the institution has been completed. The college has not taken up work on internal water supply, two-wheeler parking and arch, costing ₹2.01 crore that would benefit the students.
To CAG's enquiries, the DoTE said the principal's quarters and guest house were essential considering the distance of the college from Melur Taluk and Madurai. But the CAG said as per AICTE norms the buildings are termed 'desirable' and not 'essential'.
Besides, the DoTE had not justified the need for a gym, when the college served only day scholars who commuted from Melur. The principal said the compound wall was not completed as the cost of the project was revised and funds had not been allotted. Also, lack of habitation in the vicinity and inability to find snacks for guests resulted in non-use of the guest house and the principal's quarters, the audit was told. The government said the principal's quarters were occupied and the gym had been converted into a laboratory. The construction of compound wall had been initiated.
The CAG recommended that the DoTE should standardise norms for construction of buildings for government polytechnics, seek detailed justifications for buildings from user organisations instead of relying on justifications from the public works department. It urged the government to take steps to use the idle buildings.