350 colleges are in jeopardy because the Assam government has yet to refund 40% of admission fees

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• Oct 27, 2022 | Sourav Boruah

Digital Desk: Nearly
350 provincialized (government-aided) colleges in Assam are in crisis, with the
state government failing to refund nearly 40% of admission fees for students
from low-income families so far. Last year, these students enrolled in various
undergraduate courses without being charged a single penny by the colleges.

In 2016, the state
government launched a program to provide needy students with free college
admissions. Those with a family income of Rs 1lac per year were eligible for the
scheme.

According to sources, while more than Rs 100 crore
was scheduled to be reimbursed to government-run and provincialized colleges in
2021-22, only about Rs 37 crore has been released to them. Nothing has been
paid to colleges for providing free admissions during the 2022-23 academic
sessions, which began in July.

Many colleges are receiving notices
that they may face power outages if their electricity bills are not paid on
time. Such is the situation as a result of the government's failure to
reimburse the free admission amount," said Ranjan Kalita, general
secretary of the Assam College Principals' Council, according to reports.

Colleges in rural and suburban areas
have been hit hardest by the delay, as they receive the most applications for
free admissions

The college administration stated that
admission fees must cover electricity bills, the cost of maintaining and cleaning
the classrooms, infrastructure, and campuses, internet charges library costs, and
payment for online journals. Each College must bear approximately Rs 3 Lac per
month in order to manage these costs.