PGDM institutes can take only Rs 1,000 from fees if students withdraw admission
There are allegations that many of these institutes refuse to refund the fees — generally ranging between Rs 3 lakh to more than Rs 10 lakh — if students withdraw their candidature.
Institutes offering postgraduate diploma in management can deduct only Rs 1,000 from admission fees if students decide to withdraw before the last date of entry, as per new rules laid down by the body regulating technical education in the country.
The rules, effective immediately, also said the institutions will admit only students who qualify from any one of the six all-India tests — CAT, XAT, CMAT, ATMA, MAT, GMAT — or any entrance examination conducted by state governments.
There are more than 400 such institutes — commonly known by the acronym PGDM — under the AICTE, including XLRI in Jamshedpur, SP Jain institute of Management and Research in Mumbai and MDI in Gurgaon.
There are allegations that many of these institutes refuse to refund the fees — generally ranging between Rs 3 lakh to more than Rs 10 lakh — if students withdraw their candidature.
“PGDM institutions shall refund fees collected after deducting an amount of Rs 1,000 as processing fee and return the certificates to students withdrawing from the institutions before the last date of admission for whatever the reasons as per the procedure prescribed by AICTE,” reads the notification issued on December 14.
“The last date for withdrawal of admissions for the purpose of refund of fees shall be 30 June every year,” said the guidelines, called the All India Council for Technical Education (Norms and Standards for the conduct of Post Graduate Diploma in Management) Regulations, 2017.
The regulation mandates that PGDM institutions publish the fee being charged on their website and in admission brochures.
“A number of these institutes charge lakhs of rupees in fees and it used to be difficult for a student to shift if they got admission somewhere else as many used to withhold the fee submitted to them. Clear-cut directions have been issued and they will have to comply with it,” said a senior AICTE official.
The candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of the overall rank computed taking into account various components, including score in the common admission test, score for academic performance in class 10 and 12, undergraduate degree/postgraduate degree, and participation in sports and extracurricular activities. Academic and gender diversity will also be considered for selecting candidates.
The AICTE said that management education in India has expanded exponentially in the recent past.
“In order to properly regulate and enhance the quality of management education imparted in institutions who are offering PGDM, it has been felt that norms and standards regarding academic calendar, admission, AICTE model curriculum, and fee refund be spelt out precisely through regulation,” the notification said.
The regulation further states that the duration of the PGDM programme will not be less than 21 months and the academic calendar for admission of students will be followed as prescribed by the AICTE. The admissions will start from March 1 and end by June 30 every year
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