Two fee slabs for government quota seats

BANGALORE: It's official now: Private engineering colleges in the state will have two fee slabs for government quota seats. The unique fee structure formula will set a new precedent, when it is implemented across colleges in the state. In case a private college decides to charge Rs1.25 lakh for students from the Consortium of Medical, Engineering and Dental colleges of Karnataka (COMEDK) quota, it has to fix the government Common Entrance Test (CET) quota seat fee as Rs 30,000. If it is Rs1 lakh for COMEDK category students, then CET quota students have to shell out Rs 35,000 at the same private college. This is what the consensual agreement between the State Government and the Karnataka Unaided Private Engineering Colleges' Association (KUPECA) spells out. At a meeting of Higher Education Department officials on Wednesday, the government decided to have a single fee slab. It considered to hike the engineering fee to Rs 40,000 from Rs 32,000 last year.
On the latest development, KUPECA Chairman Panduranga Shetty said: "With the CET counselling slated to be held from June 9, students are in a dilemma owing to the fee structure impasse. So, we agreed to his model for the coming academic year." Now, private colleges will give 45 per cent of their seats to the government, 30 per cent will be filled through COMEDK Undergraduate Entrance Test (UGET) and 15 per cent will be reserved for NRI students.