Following admission cancellation in the 2022–23 academic session, universities recovered Rs 30 Cr in fees for refunds. UGC Chief

According to chairman M Jagadesh Kumar, the University Grants Commission has collected close to Rs 30 crore from institutions throughout the nation, including close to Rs 17 crore from Delhi University, for repayment of fees for cancelled or migrated admissions during the 2022–23 academic session. The UGC director provided the numbers and said that 14,443 students are receiving the recovered funds in an interview with PTI. "Many students come from backgrounds that are less stable economically. They should be free to enrol in a better university, but unless they get a refund from the institution they previously enrolled in, they may not have the financial resources to do so "explained Kumar.

"We get a lot of complaints from students, and we use them as the basis for our conversations with the colleges to make sure the money is returned. Although many universities automatically refund student fees in accordance with University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, we had to step in with a few universities, and as a result, an amount of Rs. 12.14 crore has been given to 832 students who enrolled in central, state, private, or deemed universities "Added he. For cancellations or migrations made up to October 31, 2022, the UGC had previously required that entire payments, including all charges, should be returned with zero cancellation charges. Institutions were only permitted to deduct a processing charge of Rs 1,000 beyond that point till December 31, 2022.

"The UGC has taken seriously the complaints and legal actions brought by students and parents against schools they believe are in violation of these rules. The UGC has emphasised again that the rules must be properly followed and that any institutions that do so would be subject to punishment "said Kumar. The UGC president also pointed out that Delhi University (DU) has provided other universities with a model for how to respond to student complaints and refund fees. "13,611 students have successfully received reimbursement from DU totaling Rs 16.95 crore. As a result, the UGC has recouped 14,443 students for a total of Rs 29.10 crore "added he.

The University Grants Commission received 381 complaints about deemed institutions, 243 about state universities, 165 about private universities, and 26 about central universities.

"About 300 complaints by students requesting tuition return, including 177 against state institutions, are still pending and we are talking to the colleges involved," Kumar said.