54 colleges across Maharashtra hold over students’ refundable deposit worth crores

54 colleges across Maharashtra hold over students’ refundable deposit worth crores

During admissions to the colleges, students are asked to deposit a certain amount in the colleges which is counted as a refundable deposit. After the completion of the course, the college has to refund it back to the students. Many students across the state fail to claim this money, and the deposit is kept by the college.

It has been found that 54 colleges in various regions of Maharashtra have not refunded a total of Rs.14.37 crore to students. Amar Ekad, president of COPS Students' Union, collected this information regarding the deposit through the Right To Information (RTI) Act.

Students Unions believe that the unclaimed refundable deposit is used by the colleges without seeking permission from the Higher Education and 30% of the unclaimed refund should be used for the students belonging to Economically Backward Classes (EBC) as they are the ones who have suffered during this pandemic, "When I filed an RTI in 2019, the department did not have a record of the refundable amount. The difficulty is that students are unaware of claiming the money, and as a result, they miss out on their return, which colleges can misuse, instead, 30 percent of the amount can be used for the needy students who belong to the EBC category," Amar Ekad said.

"These statements from the unions are partially incorrect," the Joint Director, Sonali Rode said, "Colleges must ask for permission before using the unclaimed refundable deposit, and if the college does so without requesting permission, the department will take strict action against the principal of the respective college."

According to the department's official GR (Government Resolution), the unclaimed library, laboratory deposit, and caution money should be used for student welfare objectives such as the library (50 per cent), gymkhana (20 per cent), and furniture and fixtures (20 per cent).

When The Free Press Journal spoke to the colleges across the city, many of them stated that the money was meant to be reimbursed to students fully. Hinduja College of Commerce Principal Minu Madlani stated, "The money is refunded to the students at the time of their results itself. Colleges must refund the refundable deposit fully, which is normally a library and caution fee. If students do not claim the money after receiving the notices, the college must utilise it solely for student welfare. That sum cannot be used for any other purposes."

Students who are aware of the refundable deposit have written to colleges to request a refund, however, many students are unaware of the refundable deposit. "I didn't know about this before," said Mukta Tawde, an SNDT University student. "But after learning about it, I wrote to my college's administration and received my refund of roughly Rs. 800 within two weeks."