PU plans a costlier 2009

CHANDIGARH: The new academic year has all the makings of an expensive affair for students of Panjab University. With all its attempts at hiking tuition fee being met with strong resistance from student community, the varsity seems set to increase its revenue through other ways.
If approved by the Syndicate during a meeting scheduled for January 25, PU would increase the price of prospectus, besides making the process of getting information under Right to Information Act an expensive proposition.
The Syndicate is expected to look into the recommendations of a committee formed to revise fee and cost for supply of information under RTI. The panel, comprising fellow GK Chatrath, former fellow Ajay Pal Singh and assistant registrar Renu Gupta, had resolved to adopt the rates as per UT administration. At present, the university charges Rs 10 per application for seeking information under RTI and Rs 2 per page for a copy of these documents.
However, according to the proposed rates, Rs 50 would be the rate per application and Rs 10 for each page created and copied. For information provided on a floppy and CD, the applicant would have to pay Rs 100 and Rs 200, respectively.
For the majority of students, it?s the proposed hike in cost of prospectus for Common Entrance Test (CET) by Rs 200 that is worrisome. If approved, this would mean a general category student would have to shell out Rs 1,700, as against Rs 1,500, to buy a prospectus.
Similarly, the prospectus for O-CET would come at a price tag of Rs 1,500 as against Rs 1,300 last year. Moreover, getting admission to University Institute of Applied Management Sciences (UIAMS) will get costlier. The prospectus for MBA regular and MBA off campus too would cost Rs 1,800 each as compared to Rs 1,500 last year.
The Syndics would also take up the resolution proposed by Ajay Pal Singh on the issue of granting improvement chance to the students of LLB.
The committee, comprising GK Chatrath as chairman, Ajay Pal Singh, PS Jaswal and the registrar, had resolved that the candidate ? in order to improve his percentage of marks in LLB (three years) ? may be allowed to appear in any additional subject or paper prescribed in the course by the university for the subject, provided he has not already passed in the same discipline.