A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court has observed that the APJ Abdul Kalam Technology University (KTU) has been vested with powers to fix affiliation fee and enhance it for self-financing engineering colleges in the State.
The Bench, while disposing of a host of writ petitions challenging the affiliation fee, observed that the university was vested with powers to fix the affiliation fee and enhance it by virtue of the powers granted to the board of governors as well as the syndicate as per the APJ Abdul Kalam Technology University Act, 2015.
Various duties
The court pointed out that the syndicate, the board of governors, the Vice Chancellor and other authorities of the university were discharging various duties and obligations under the Act, statutes, ordinances and regulations for the maintenance and upkeep of the self-financing colleges in accordance with the standards fixed by the university. Therefore, it was a clear indication that in order to maintain the activities of the university, it had to impose affiliation fees.
The petitioners, including the Kerala Self-Financing Engineering College Managements Association, contended that the university was not competent to demand an annual affiliation fee or financial guarantee from self-financing colleges. Besides, fixing and demanding annual affiliation fees and financial guarantees from such colleges was discriminatory and violative of Article 14 of the Constitution as government-controlled self-financing colleges were exempted from affiliation fee.
