Mid-Day

Mumbai, Jun 10: Many students of Dr Antonio Da Silva College of Engineering and Management (DADS), Dadar, want to quit the college even at the cost of sacrificing one academic year and Rs 40,000 each. They say they are tired of the lack of facilities and the college’s alleged malpractices.

DADS is a study centre of the Pune-based Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV). The college charges students Rs 40,000 — double the fees mentioned in TMV’s prospectus.

Nikhil Singh, a second year mechanical engineering student, said, “TMV has clearly stated in the prospectus that the fees for any of the courses should not exceed Rs 20,000 per year. But DADS has forced us to pay Rs 40,000. I want my money back. I want to withdraw my admission and go to a better college.”

The college has also made the students pay a portion of the fees for the next academic year before the results for the current year are out.

“We were told to pay Rs 10,000 as admission fees for the next year before June 3, though our results will only be out in the last week of July. I had to pay the amount even though I don’t know whether I have cleared the exam or not,” said Yasser Pawaskar, a first-year student of automobile engineering.

And despite charging the students extra, DADS doesn’t even provide them with basic facilities like exam answer sheets.

“The centre charges fees for a library that does not have any books. During exams, we have to even bring answer sheets from home,” said Vikrant Sonawala, a second-year electronics and telecommunication student.

As the centre is recognised by only one university in the country, the students have limited choices for further studies.

“After completing our diploma, we can only get admission in a TMV centre, as DADS is not recognised by any other university,” said Sonawala.

Chandrashekhar Pardeshi, principal of DADS, refuted the charges. He said, “We have not obtained permission from TMV to overcharge, but study centres are allowed to charge fees as per their convenience. There is no question of a refund. And payment of fees before the results is a rule of the institute and students are aware of it.” 
ABOUT DADS

DADS offers diploma courses in electronics and telecommunication, computer science, automobile and mechanical engineering. It is a study centre of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, which is a deemed university since the past two years. Fifty-three students are enrolled at DADS.

Other TMV centres
- Modern technology and engineering college, Thane
- Modern technology and engineering college,  Andheri
- Ryan College of engineering and management, Goregaon
- Ryan College of engineering and management, Kalamboli