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28 Mar 2024, Edition - 3180, Thursday

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Coimbatore

Arts and science courses in demand, capitation fees surges

Mohamed Hamza

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The demand for arts and science related courses have gone up steeply and this is quite evident from the surging capitation fees for these disciplines. For many, engineering courses is now the second option.

This demand is also visible with many of the arts and science colleges demanding hefty capitation fees for admission into their courses. The leading colleges in the city, especially some in Peelamedu demand a few lakhs for their popular courses.

“There are colleges which charge anywhere between Rs 60,000 to Rs 3 lakh. Courses like B Com are in huge demand this time,” said C Pichandy a former Head of the Department of Mass Communication at PSG College of Arts and Science.

Academic sources say that other commerce based courses like BBA and computer based courses are also in high demand and capitation fee is as high.

Colleges ask parents to pay the amount in the form of Demand Drafts taken in the name of college trusts. These trusts which are registered as charitable organisations are exempted from paying taxes, he said.

Even some of the so called tier two institutions demand capitation fees. A student who managed to get admission into one of the colleges near Peelamdeu said he had to pay Rs 25,000 for a course which is in fact not in great demand, indicating the popularity of arts and science courses.

“As I couldn’t get into any of the leading colleges, I applied for a Computer related bachelor course in a comparatively new institution. I was asked to pay this amount immediately,” he said on conditions of anonymity.

Academicians like Pichandy say that the government should come up with stringent laws which prohibit capitation fees for admissions. “There is a need of specific laws targeting self-financing colleges so as to prohibit them from fleecing parents in the name of capitation. This is the need of the hour,” he said.

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