Is this the cost of commercialisation of education? A 17-year-old
girl, Manisha (name changed), jumped from the fourth floor of Surana
College in Jayanagar, which allegedly threatened to expel her if she did
not opt for Common Entrance Test (CET) tuitions.
The tuitions were made compulsory and the college was charging Rs28,000, in gross violation of PU Education Board norms.
Manisha is now in Bangalore Hospital with a broken spine, and is facing the possibility of losing both her legs.
Manisha’s parents told DNA she was interested in doing BSc/MSc and not engineering, medicine or dental courses for which the CET is required.
“The administration gave us time to pay the tuition fees in three instalments,” Manisha’s mother Kasturi said. However, the family was going through a financial crisis. Two months ago, their house was burgled, with the thieves escaping with Rs3 lakh, which Manisha’s father, Nagaraj, had procured as loan from a moneylender to start a business.
Family members said Manisha, the only child of her parents, felt trapped between having to pay such a huge amount—a burden on her father—or, facing expulsion from the college which had made the tuitions mandatory for all II PU science students.
“She was afraid that the college would issue her a transfer certificate, like it had decided to do with three other students who did not want the CET tuitions,” said Kasturi.
“If it had not been for the high (CET) tuition fees, there would have been no problem. Since they had to pay double the amount, it got delayed,” one of Manisha’s relatives told DNA.
Rashmi V Mahesh, commissioner, PU Education Board, said: “Under no circumstances can a college administration make coaching compulsory for students. The parents should lodge a police complaint if the college administration threaten to issue transfer certificate.” She said the department would conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident.
But Surana College principal BN Chandrashekarappa denied that CET tuitions were made compulsory for II PU students. “Extra classes are being taken up for students. Instead of going elsewhere, they can study in the campus. Some students are not interested in taking up CET, but the classes are useful for them in the view of the annual examinations.”
He said he would meet Manisha and her family at the hospital on Wednesday.
The tuitions were made compulsory and the college was charging Rs28,000, in gross violation of PU Education Board norms.
Manisha is now in Bangalore Hospital with a broken spine, and is facing the possibility of losing both her legs.
Manisha’s parents told DNA she was interested in doing BSc/MSc and not engineering, medicine or dental courses for which the CET is required.
“The administration gave us time to pay the tuition fees in three instalments,” Manisha’s mother Kasturi said. However, the family was going through a financial crisis. Two months ago, their house was burgled, with the thieves escaping with Rs3 lakh, which Manisha’s father, Nagaraj, had procured as loan from a moneylender to start a business.
Family members said Manisha, the only child of her parents, felt trapped between having to pay such a huge amount—a burden on her father—or, facing expulsion from the college which had made the tuitions mandatory for all II PU science students.
“She was afraid that the college would issue her a transfer certificate, like it had decided to do with three other students who did not want the CET tuitions,” said Kasturi.
“If it had not been for the high (CET) tuition fees, there would have been no problem. Since they had to pay double the amount, it got delayed,” one of Manisha’s relatives told DNA.
Rashmi V Mahesh, commissioner, PU Education Board, said: “Under no circumstances can a college administration make coaching compulsory for students. The parents should lodge a police complaint if the college administration threaten to issue transfer certificate.” She said the department would conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident.
But Surana College principal BN Chandrashekarappa denied that CET tuitions were made compulsory for II PU students. “Extra classes are being taken up for students. Instead of going elsewhere, they can study in the campus. Some students are not interested in taking up CET, but the classes are useful for them in the view of the annual examinations.”
He said he would meet Manisha and her family at the hospital on Wednesday.
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