G.O. 61: professional colleges plan to go in appeal

Hyderabad June 24: While the private engineering colleges, stunned by the High Court upholding G.O. 61, are planning to go in appeal, the A.P. State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) wants to go ahead with the implementation of the G.O. that aims at bringing in transparency in the admission of management quota seats.
Officials are of the view that colleges cannot directly approach the Supreme Court unless the High Court quashes their appeal. Given the circumstances and the strong ground they are on the colleges’ claim would be dismissed again even if colleges go for an appeal. “As of now the G.O. 61 stands and we will act as per the G.O.,” the APSCHE Secretary, M.D. Christopher told The Hindu.
He said the vacancy position in each college would be sought and they would be asked to fill them as per the G.O.
The G.O. issued in May this year makes it mandatory for professional colleges to keep the information pertaining to the seats available in each discipline, details of application fees, addresses of the candidates obtaining applications and the merit list of candidates in their notice boards and websites.
Moreover, colleges should provide blank application forms to all the candidates apart from providing download facility in their websites.
College managements, however, want to use all the legal options.
Representatives of private unaided college managements said that it was unfair on the part of the Government to interfere in the management quota admissions. Some of them agree that they collect more than the prescribed fee and it was necessary to sustain the college.
The mood is more prevalent in the top colleges, which argue that the Government prescribed fee of Rs. 28,000 for 80 per cent of seats is peanuts. “We cannot maintain quality with that fee.”
Meanwhile, parents who have already “booked” seats paying huge fee in several top colleges are in a dilemma whether their seats were “protected”.
Many parents have booked seats for their wards agreeing to pay fee ranging from Rs. 4 lakh to Rs. 14 lakh depending on the course and the college. After the G.O. was issued colleges have been avoiding taking full payment citing the G.O. and its final outcome in the court.
(Source : The Hindu)