PUDUCHERRY: Pondicherry University(PU) on Tuesday justified the enhancement of its fees for the current academic session by citing the need to do so as the fee had gone unrevised for a decade now. Replying to newsmen at a press conference on Tuesday, vice chancellor J A K Tareen said that university could no longer carry on with the present fee structure as the UGC had cut down the non-plan, non-salary grants by 50 per cent. Even the extra funds that had come the university’s way through increase in OBC quota was not available.The university needed to mobilise its own revenue to provide the facilities for quality education, otherwise it would have to withdraw that too, said Tareen. The per capita expenditure on a student is `1.30 lakh per year, he added.Even after enhancement, the fee has been kept comparable to other Central universities, he said. Denying allegations of exorbitant fees being charged by the university, he said that the hike was 40 to 100 per cent and not 400 to 500 times. Comparing it to University of Hyderabad(HU) and Banaras Hindu University (BHU), he said that fee for MA at PU was `20,000 to 24,538 as compared to `8030 to `33,330 of HU and `20,000 to `1,20,00 of BHU. Similarly the fee for MSc at PU was `30,338 as compared to `10,890 to `30,115 of HU and `60,000 of BHU.The enhancement in fee was for students admitted in the next academic year (2012-2013) and not for the existing students undergoing courses, he said.Detailing the facilities provided, vice chancellor said that the university was offering rent-free hostel to girl students, free transport, free education including boarding and lodging facilities for disabled, food subsidy (`400) at hostels for students below creamy layer. Stipend of `1000 per month to all students admitted in integrated PhD for two years and stipend of `750 per month to all students admitted in five-year integrated course for first three years were being given. Moreover, the entire campus was wi-fi-enabled with 100 percent power backup for all academic , administrative buildings and hostels, he said.The number of applications having gone up to 50,000 as compared to 47,000 in the previous year, he said it would not affect the university’s objective to enhance the number of students entering it.
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