Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)

Mangalore, Jul 5: Speaking to reporters after participating in a meeting of officials held at the zilla panchayat premises here on Friday July 4, state primary and secondary education minister Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri informed, that the department will soon be initiating strong steps against 21 colleges in the state that have violated rules and policies of the education department.

Governing councils of the colleges that are engaged in putting the future of the students into jeopardy have already been warned to mend their ways. Still, the situation has not improved in some cases. Hence, we are compelled to initiate sterner measures, he said.

In the meanwhile, it is learnt that four pre-university colleges in the city, after the directorate of civil rights enforcement directorate interfered in the matter after complaints were made by certain organisations about unlawful collection of excessive fees and donations from economically poor, scheduled caste and tribes students, refunded donations and other collections made from  some of their students. The names of such colleges are St Agnes, Expert, Sharada and Canara College.

St Aloysius college however, is learnt to have not agreed to refund such excess charges, saying that being a minority institution, it is not obliged to follow government rules as regards the quantum of fees. The directorate has reportedly issued notice to the college, saying that it gets partial aid from the state government and hence has to follow the norms on donations and fees stipulated by the state government.