UGC warns colleges of action if they fail to refund fees on admission cancellation

Nagpur: Many students cancel their admission to a college for various reasons but do not get their fees back. Complaints of this kind are rising. Taking this seriously, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has taken a tough stand.

The commission has told colleges to follow the prescribed rules on fee refunds. Institutions that ignore these rules may face action.

Complaints about fees not being refunded are reaching the UGC. The number of applications filed under the Right to Information (RTI) Act and of cases reaching the courts has also gone up. There are also complaints that some institutions drag their feet over returning fees.

To ensure the refund rules are followed, the UGC issued separate circulars and guidelines on December 17, 2020, in July 2021, and on August 2, 2022, July 3, 2023, February 9, 2024 and June 12, 2024. As the rules are still being broken, the commission has warned institutions of action under the prescribed provisions.

Under the UGC guidelines, students who cancel their admission must get their fees back as per the rules within the stipulated time. The amount refunded depends on the date by which the student cancelled the admission.

The guidelines provided that if admission was cancelled by November 30, 2020, the full fee would be returned without any deduction. For withdrawal of admission after that and up to December 31, 2020, the arrangement was to refund the rest after deducting a processing fee of at most Rs 1,000.

Deadlines were also fixed for the 2024-25 academic session. Under these, the full fee was to be refunded if admission was cancelled by September 30, 2024. If it was cancelled by October 31, 2024, the rule was to refund the balance after deducting a processing fee of at most Rs 1,000.

The commission has made it clear that students who cancel their admission within the stipulated period must get their fees back under the applicable rules. Even so, complaints are coming in that many colleges are ignoring the rules. Institutions that break the fee refund policy can face action as per the rules.

It is important for students to keep their fee refund papers, payment receipts and proof of admission cancellation safe, so that these can be of use if they need to file a complaint.