Suggestions for Fee Committees
In 2005,
the World Bank published a report on
The key to
the success of knowledge economy lies in the quality and motivation of the
human resources that Institution of higher learning employs along with the
infrastructure it operates with and the milieu it functions under. Quality of human resource is function of
emoluments that is offered to the faculty, infrastructure facilities,
institutional flexibility and maintenance of academic and training
standards. All this require raising of
financial resources. A trust/society under
whose guidance the institution function is non-profit organizations but has to
be self sustaining. The income for self
sustaining comes from students’ fees, consultancies and Research output. To make consultancies and Research output
viable one has to first build brand name and Image that requires few years of
functioning. At the start the student
fee is the only resource.
The Indian policy is expressed by the HRD Ministry:
“The revised offer made by India at the GATS was to
partially open up higher education sector under the condition that Higher
education Institutions can only charge fees as fixed by an appropriate
authority and that such fees do not amount to charging capitation fee or lead
to profiteering. The provision of the
Higher education services would also be subject to regulations already in place
or to be prescribed by an appropriate regulatory authority (MHRD-2006-07)”.
This is
hardly welcoming policies to attract the World’s best universities, especially
when so many countries are vying for their attention. The answer is to fix fees that are realistic
and command growth of the Institute.
No doubt underprivileged section of the society must be taken care
through freeships, scholarships or assistance to them. In order to reduce the
burden of such assistance on the Institute and not to hamper their growth,
elite students have to pay part of this share.
Suggestions
a) Emoluments to the faculty in the ratio of teachers to
students 1:15, maintaining the hierarchy of teachers, i.e. Professor/Dean,
Assistant Professors and lecturers as per the recommendation of AICTE. The faculty strength also must take care of
future planning, research and consultancy.
Revision of pay scale by the Sixth Pay Commission must be
considered. The costs must be covered
through fees.
b) In order to compete with the world Institutions of
higher learning as we are part of
c)
Institutes
require financial Inputs not only for day to day running and development of
initial infrastructure and facilities but require upgrading them as per the
latest technologies, in order to make the Institute of the International
quality pace with the latest academic knowledge and technologies all this add
to the cost. This development cost must
form part of the fee.
d) The cost of the faculty development programmes to
improve the quality and deputing the faculty to improve their qualification
must be catered in the fee structure.
e) Underprivileged section of the society must be
assisted and encourage to enroll for higher education. This burden is to be taken up by the more
fortunate brethren so that scholarships and freeship can be sustained.
f)
In order to take
care of (e) it is suggested that two tier fee structure to be designed. One for economically weaker but meritorious
students, i.e. 25-30% and higher fee for the remaining 70-75% students so that
social requirements are also met without hampering the growth.
g) Motivation and sharpening of knowledge is must for
higher education. It is necessary to
organize lectures by eminent faculty from academics, Industries and research
Institutes. Visits to industries, Knowledge parks are must for upgrading the
knowledge. This cost is to be considered
within the fee.
h)
Internet
facilities, i.e. WI-FI/LAN/WAN, training equipments/updating the library,
adding the Research facilities etc., enhance the cost. This has to be considered while deciding the
fee.
i)
Maintenance cost
of electricity, water treatment plants, sewage disposal plants, communications, AC, sports &
culture, health care and provision of comfortable living facilities, i.e.
shopping centres etc. cost also to be
considered with fee.
These are
few points that need to be considered.
An example of IITs, NITs and good universities are to be taken up before
fixing the fee. The fee being charged
from each student and total aid being given by the Government and grant being
obtained from UGC and other Government agencies, Alumni’s aid thus is today
significant, must also be added and total must be divided by the students’
strength studying in the Institute and per student cost incurred by the
institute to be worked out. Initial
grant giving by the Govt. including the land cost must also be worked out and
this may be considered as initial loan and interest on this loan to be added
while working out the cost per student that may be the realistic fee.
It is for
the consideration of the fee committee that social responsibility should not
hamper the growth of higher education. One must take care of social responsibility
but those who can afford to pay must take care of the cost.
A viable
fee structure is must if good higher education is to be sustained otherwise
unethical practices of donations, underpayment to faculty, charging of extra
fee under some other heads will rule the higher education and in this way
honest and lover of education will be eliminated by the unethical profit makers.
Social
responsibility will be better met by two tier fee structure and when growth
with dignity take place, society is benefited much more as harmony will
prevail. Growth is must for sustaining
higher education.