After receiving various complaints from the students and parents, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to refund the fees for cancellation or migrated admissions during the 2022-23 academic year.
In an interview with news agency PTI, the chief of University Grants Commission revealed that the commission has recovered nearly Rs 30 crore from universities across the country, including around Rs 17 crore from Delhi University, for refund of fees for cancelled or migrated admissions during the 2022-23 academic session. He also said that the recovered amount is being disbursed to 14,443 students.
“Many students come from backgrounds that are less stable economically. They should be free to enrol in a better university, but unless they receive a refund from the institution they previously enrolled in, they might not have the financial resources to do so,” Kumar added.
He further stated that they received a lot of complaints from students and based on that they spoke to the universities and ensured that the amount is refunded. “Although many universities automatically refund students fees in accordance with the UGC guidelines, we had to step in with a few universities, and as a result, an amount of Rs 12.14 crore has been refunded to 832 students who took admission in central, state, private or deemed universities.”
Earlier, the commission had mentioned that the full fees, including all charges, should be refunded with zero cancellation charges for cancellations or migrations up to October 31, 2022. After the due date, the universities were allowed to deduct no more than Rs 1,000 as processing fees.
The commission has seriously considered the complaints and legal actions brought by students and parents against the institutions violating these guidelines. The UGC has emphasized that the rules must be properly followed and that any institutions that do so would be subject to punishment, said the UGC chief.
He further said that the Delhi University has set an example for other various institutions on how to handle such grievances from students and refund the fee. According to the data, DU has successfully reimbursed 13,611 students that is a sum of Rs 16.95 crore. Hence, the UGC has recovered a total of Rs 29.10 crore of 14,443 students, Kumar said.
(With PTI inputs)