Rajasthan government flayed for collection of Rs 1,000 consultation fee from university students

Jaipur (PTI): Rajasthan government faced sharp criticism in the Assembly on Wednesday for a Rs 1,000 consultation fee collected from university students, with the opposition alleging that around Rs 223 crore was raised from nearly 22.5 lakh students without justification.

Raising the issue during the Question Hour, Congress MLA Manish Yadav questioned the legality of the fee allegedly collected by certain state universities over the last several years.

He accused the government of providing two different answers to his starred and unstarred questions on the same topic.

The issue led to a protracted commotion in the House, with opposition members demanding an inquiry into the matter and intervention by the Governor.

Dissatisfied with the state government's reply, legislators from the opposition Congress stood up from their seats. Yadav almost came near the Well of the House.

Replying to the question, Deputy Chief Minister and Higher Education Minister Prem Chand Bairwa explained that Raj Rishi Bhartrihari Matsya University collected Rs 22.16 crore between 2018-19 and 2024-25, Mohanlal Sukhadia University collected Rs 43.16 crore between 2020-21 and 2024-25, and the University of Rajasthan collected Rs 156.18 crore between 2017-18 and 2024-25 under the head of "Vimarsh Shulk" (consultation fee).

"In total, approximately Rs 223 crore was collected from around 22.5 lakh students, and the amount was utilised for examination-related work," Bairwa said.

Yadav objected to the reply, asking how the amount could be used for examination work when a separate examination fee was already being charged.

He demanded the details of how many counselling or discussion centres were set up, how many students benefitted from them, and under which heads the collected amount was spent. He also demanded tabling of the detailed income and expenditure statement.

As the minister described it as a matter governed by the respective University Acts, opposition members accused the government of failing to provide clear legal provisions authorising the levy. Leader of Opposition Tika Ram Jully said the minister should cite the relevant section of the University Act instead of reading out departmental orders.

Jully and Yadav alleged that there was no provision in the University Act to collect such a fee from private candidates and demanded its immediate discontinuation. They also sought a refund of the amount already collected from students.

Yadav termed the collection a "direct burden" on 22.5 lakh students and alleged that neither the government nor the universities have produced proof that the Rs 223 crore was spent on actual counselling services.

The debate on the matter ended as Speaker Vasudev Devnani announced the end of the Question Hour.