The petitioner, Narayana Medical College and Andhra Pradesh were each ordered by a panel of Judges MR Shah and Sudhanshu Dhulia to pay Rs 5,000 to be deposited with the Court Registry within six weeks.
“Increasing the fee to Rs 24 lakh per year, ie seven times the fee previously set, was totally unjustifiable. Education is not the business to make a profit. Tuition must always be affordable,” the bank said.
The Supreme Court made the statement while dismissing a college’s appeal against a ruling by the Andhra Pradesh High Court that invalidated the government’s decision to increase tuition fees for MBBS students.
The Andhra Pradesh Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (for Professional Courses Offered in Private Un-Aided Professional Institutions) Rules, 2006 were cited by the Supreme Court as saying that the fee will not be increased or fixed without the Committee’s recommendations or report could.
The Supreme Court found that when setting or reviewing tuition fees, the Admissions and Fees Regulatory Committee must consider a number of variables, including the location of the professional institution, the type of professional course, and the cost of available infrastructure.
It found that the sum confiscated or confiscated under the government’s illegal order could not be entrusted to the university administration for its own use.
“In view of the foregoing and for the reasons set out above, both appeals are unsuccessful and merit dismissal and are dismissed accordingly, but at a cost estimated at Rs 5 lakh, to be shared equally by the appellant and the appellate body State of Andhra Pradesh must be lodged with the registry of that court within six weeks,” the bank said.
