colleges from Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad, nine from Mumbai and two from Navi Mumbai, for failing to meet the deadline of October 31 for submitting fee proposals for 2009-10.
It is not just private unaided colleges that have been pulled up by the fee fixation panel. Even government- and university-run institutions, including the Pune-based Maharashtra State Institute for Hotel Management and Catering Technology (MSIHMCT), are facing the heat for having failed to meet the extended deadline.
All these institutions, who were slapped with a fine of Rs 50,000 per course/per branch, have been given four weeks' time to explain.
"The notices to government- and university-run institutions are related to the unaided courses offered by them. They will have to furnish an explanation with regard to finalisation of fees for these courses," the panel's secretary, P E Gaikwad, told TOI on Wednesday.
University Departments of Chemical Technology (UDCTs) at North Maharashtra University, Jalgaon, and Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad, are the varsity-run institutions besides the MSIHMCT which figure in the list.
The panel, which is a Supreme Court mandated quasi judicial body headed by a former high court judge, has also asked the colleges to explain why their fees should not be brought at par with government-aided colleges.
In all, 1,748 unaided technical colleges and 227 health sciences and allied course institutions in the state are bound by the apex court ruling of getting their tuition fees approved by the fee panel.
A delay in submission of fee proposals - coupled with the limited manpower with the panel for handling such huge volumes of fee proposals - often leads to disputes between the college management and students.
At a state-level meeting on engineering education held here on November 7, Gaikwad had expressed his anguish over the colleges not taking the deadlines seriously, thereby hampering the fee fixation schedule.
The panel had initially fixed August 25 as the deadline for submission of fee proposal by the colleges. The same was extended to July 25 without penalty and to August 25 with a penalty of Rs 30,000 per course/per batch. A final extension up to October 31 with an enhanced penalty of Rs 50,000 per course/per batch was effected. Still, more than 500 colleges had failed to meet the final extended deadline.
Gaikwad said, "Our primary task is to bring to the panel's notice the various discrepancies and the latter takes a call on the action. We were directed by the panel head to start issuing show-cause notices to the colleges that failed to meet the deadline."
He said, "All explanations given by the colleges would be put up before the panel for either relief or action on a case-by-case basis as the panel deems fit."
R P Joshi, vice president, Association of Managements of Private Unaided Engineering Colleges, said, "We will call a meeting of the colleges concerned to deliberate on the issue and ensure appropriate compliance."
Apart from engineering institutions, the list includes pharmacy, architecture, medical, dental, ayurved, occupational therapy, homoeopathic, physiotherapy and nursing colleges.
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