The common belief that private schools and colleges are reaping profit had made people depend on state-owned colleges and universities.
However, the 2013 report of Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) on the University of Mumbai busted that myth as well.
The report exposes how the university’s management institutes are charging exorbitant fees for years. Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS) in Churchgate and Alkesh Dinesh Mody Institute for Financial & Management Studies (ADMIFMS), Kalina campus, are charging Rs10,000 annually from students for instruction material.
The CAG report was obtained through RTI by Pune activist Vihar Dhurve.
As the university failed to provide CAG the accounts of 2011-12 and 2012-13, it looked into the previous years’ expenditure. In 2008-09, JBIMS earned Rs66.65 lakh while the expenditure for the material was only Rs1.97 lakh.
This means that the institute charged over 30 times more than what it should have. In 2009-10, the institute earned more than 110 times than what it spent – it received Rs87 lakh and spent only Rs75,000 on study materials. The university earned more than Rs1.5 crore in two years.
On the other hand, ADMIFMS received Rs18.31 lakh and Rs16.22 lakh in 2008-09 and 2009-10 respectively from MMS students for study material while the expenditure was only Rs93,000 and Rs86,000 in the two years. The college earned more than Rs32 lakh in two years by overcharging the students.
Both the institutes take 120 students a year and fees for them are prescribed by the university’s management council.
The CAG has also sought the total accounts of these institutes and noted that JBIMS had a surplus of Rs11.7 crore and Kalina institute had Rs1.1 crore in these two years.
Making a scathing remark against university, the report says: “From the figures, it could be seen that though these institutes had large surpluses, they continued to charge exorbitant fees for instruction material. The additional financial burden on the students seems unwarranted.”
The CAG also sought details of the comments made by the management council members approving the high fee. When auditors sought clarification from JBIMS, it claimed that students would be given books along with photocopies of the study material. ADMIFMS said study material will be procured from 2013-14 from IIM and other reputed centres.
Illegal univ messes running for 15 yrs
The messes in Karve and Ramabai girls’ hostel and KBP boys’ hostel are running without any proper contract. No tenders were invited for the messes and contracts are issued and renewed by the warden for the last 10 to 15 years. “The university remained a silent spectator,” says the report.
When auditors sought clarification, no reply was furnished by the varsity.
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