Family uses RTI to get fee refund
Mumbai: Imagine saving a small sum every month for your kids’ education and
then losing a huge chunk of that amount to a private college management
which refuses to refund the fee when you opt out for a better course. That’s
what happened to Rajesh Talreja, a clerical employee of a nationalised bank,
who had to fight tooth and nail to get his money back so that he could get
his daughter admitted to a course of her choice.
Rajesh and his wife, a receptionist-cum-telephone operator with a
private firm, always told their daughters that nothing but knowledge will
stay with them forever. Despite financial constraints, the couple from Mira
Road in north Mumbai had saved up money so that both their daughters could
pursue higher education. Never had Rajesh imagined that a huge part of these
savings would vanish into thin air because a callous private college would
just not refund the fees despite cancelling admission.
Elder daughter Preeti had decided to get into medicine but her parents
suggested that she secure admission in a biomedical course as a stand-by
option. So, on July 29, 2006, Preeti secured a seat in the FYBE (First year
Bio Medical Engineering) course in Watumall Engineering College (WEC),
Worli, by paying Rs 49,841. Her continuance in the engineering college,
though,depended on her score in the medical Common Entrance Test.
But when medical and dental admissions got delayed due to disputes in
fee structures, the family changed their plan. As per the WEC prospectus, if
the admission was cancelled in four days, 80% of fees were to be refunded,
and similarly, if admission was cancelled in six days, 60 per cent was to be
refunded. Beyond that, no refund would be given.
“Since we didn’t want to lose money in late cancellation, we cancelled
the admission in 4 days,” said Preeti’s mother Shilpa. However, WEC did not
refund 80 % of the fees as promised. “Despite our reasoning, the college
wouldn’t budge,” said Rajesh.
Not fully convinced about WEC’s refund rules, Rajesh moved a Right to
Information Act application for clarifications in case of cancellation or
upgradation of admission to the Mumbai University, to which WEC is
affiliated. “University officials promptly replied that cancellation amounts
were in the range of Rs 150-250 for cancelling a seat within three months of
admission,” said Rajesh.
Despite being shown the rules, WEC refused to pay up. “We then
approached the registrar of Mumbai university, who told us to present our
case in the students grievances redressal council,” said Preeti. After
hearing their case, the university wrote to WEC, ordering it to abide by the
rules and refund the fees. WEC refunded 80 % of the fees after three months
of chasing his money. He used that money to admit his daughter into a course
she always wanted to pursue – dentistry.
Preeti is now in first year BDS in a Navi Mumbai college. “I owe it to
my parents,” she says.
But Rajesh has not given up as yet. He says WEC should have deducted
only Rs 250 and not 20 % of the fees and will continue his quest for
justice.
When contacted by TOI, WEC principal Sandhya Desai said that rules set
by the Directorate of Technical Education and not those of the Mumbai
University are applicable to them in case of admission and fees. The
Shikshan Shulka Samiti, the state fee fixation body had approved their
refund rules for the year and hence 20% of the fees were deducted before
paying the refund.
Given this scenario, Rajesh is campaigning to ensure that refund rules
of all colleges are in line with those of the universities they are
affiliated to.