Rs 1 crore fine for demanding capitation fee under proposed law

NEW DELHI: Government today approved amendments to a proposed bill to curb unfair practices in higher technical education institutes which include raising to Rs one crore the fine for demanding capitation fee and provisions for grievance redressal mechanism.

The amendments to the Prohibition of Unfair Practices in Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Bill, 2010 were given the nod by the Union Cabinet along with a change in the title of the Bill.

The Bill, which was introduced in Lok Sabha in March last year, was referred to the Parliament Standing Committee on HRD, which submitted its recommendations in May this year.

Sources said 41 recommendations of the committee were accepted while seven were rejected.

The accepted ones included raising penal provisions for charging capitation fee from Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore, they said.

The bill would also have provisions for a grievance redressal mechanism and will also have scope for inclusion of any new type of unfair practice other than the specified ones after the passage of the bill.

Giving the bill more teeth, a new clause has been introduced prohibiting unqualified teachers from being engaged. Failure to meet any promise made in the prospectus would also be an offence.

As per Cabinet's decision, the title Technical Educational Institutions, Medical Educational Institutions and Universities Act, 2010 would be substituted by 'Higher Educational Institutions Act, 2011'.

The bill shall cover all higher educational institutions including medical institutes but not agriculture education and research as they are mostly state subjects, the sources said.