Anna University returns course affiliation fee

The university is not in a position to accept the affiliation fee of Rs. 75,000, from Narayana Guru College of Engineering Kanyakumari, says Registrar. Anna University, through a communication dated August 13, 2013, has returned the affiliation fee of Rs. 75,000 to Narayana Guru College of Engineering, Kanyakumari. The communication from the Registrar says that the university is not in a position to accept the affiliation fee. The amount was paid by the college as fee to extend affiliation for M.Sc. courses for 2013-14. The college is perplexed as to why the university is not willing to accept the fee in spite of the judgment of the Madurai Bench dated April 17, 2013. The Court had ordered the university to pass orders – within four weeks from the receipt of the order – to allow the college to continue with the science courses. Colleges, affiliated to Anna University, have been urging the State government and university to allow them to continue with the science courses in spite of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)’s directive barring them to do so. Narayana Guru College of Engineering had moved the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking continuation of affiliation, for which the verdict was in its favour. But according to the chairman of the college G. Sidhardhan, the order had not been honoured by the university. “The Bench had passed the order to extend affiliation for the M.Sc. Software Engineering and M.Sc. Electronic Media courses for 2013-14. But four months have passed since the judgment, and no action has been taken by Anna University. The Vice-Chancellor has been telling that a decision will be taken at the Syndicate meeting. But that decision has only been to write to AICTE. After all this, this letter – refusing to accept the affiliation fee – has been sent to us,” he says. The letter mentions that the matter had been referred by the university to the AICTE, as resolved by the Syndicate, but no reply had been received in spite of sending reminders. Mr. Sidhardhan, responding to the university’s letter dated August 13, 2013, has said that “upon the assurances orally received from the university, we have admitted students to the M.Sc. programme. We request you to kindly pass an order to enable these students write the examinations. Otherwise, we will be forced to go to court for implementation of the earlier judgment”. He further adds that the court order is “simple and straight and does not contemplate reference to AICTE or any other body.” The college believes that it has waited too long without moving a contempt petition, but if the regularisation of admission of students faced difficulty, it would be constrained to do so. Source: educationnews