Mumbai : The Higher and Technical Education Department of Maharashtra has issued strict directives to all private unaided colleges in the state, warning them not to charge students fees exceeding the amounts approved by the Fee Regulating Authority (FRA) or the Fee Fixation Committee.
The government has made it clear that during the admission process, if any institution is found collecting more than the sanctioned fee, stringent action will be taken under Section 14 of the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act, 2015.
Key Government Directives:
Every college must permanently display the course-wise approved fees in both Marathi and English on their website and on notice boards.
Under no circumstances can colleges charge more than the FRA-approved amount.
For students availing benefits under state scholarship schemes, the scholarship amount must be deducted from the fee, and only the remaining balance can be collected.
Colleges are prohibited from collecting more than one year’s fee in a single academic session.
Any excess fee collection will be treated as profiteering, inviting strict legal and administrative action.
The department has also appealed to students to report such violations. Complaints can be lodged through the State CET Cell helpline numbers or via the login ID provided on its official website.
Every year, the FRA finalises fee structures for professional courses such as engineering, pharmacy, architecture, management, and law. Despite this, authorities have received multiple complaints of institutions exploiting students by demanding “extra charges” under various pretexts—such as development fees, lab maintenance charges, or admission processing costs—over and above the sanctioned rates.
Officials have assured that surprise inspections will be conducted in the coming weeks, and defaulter colleges could face penalties, withdrawal of affiliation, or even cancellation of admissions already granted.
