• Notification Date: 07-01-2022
• Notification No:

Colleges break out on Protests as Tribal University demands 18% GST along with Affiliation Fees

Govind Guru Tribal University (GGTU) demands 18% GST along with the affiliation fees from the students. As a result, over 130 colleges affiliated with the Tribal University in Banswara have begun massive protests again the same. The colleges have filed a legal complaint against the university with the demand of withdrawal of the affiliation fees. They claim that GST does not apply to the affiliation fees in colleges and the students cannot pay the high amount of fees.

The colleges claim that the additional payment would put excessive pressure on the students who are already financially deprived. The college association in Banswara has also added that the pandemic has put the tribal families in tremendous financial distress. The students would not be able to pay the additional 18% GST in this situation.

Sharad Joshi, a member of the private college association has commented, “It is not compulsory for universities to collect 18% GST. Not all universities in the state are collecting it. Also, we have presented the cases to the university that how colleges were refunded the GST amount wrongly collected by respective universities.” The additional 18% GST amount will be applied to the university charges and the inspection fees. The students are required to pay the total amount to get university affiliation for the session of 2022-2023. According to the report, the university is charging Rs 80,000 for each subject, along with Rs 15,000 as inspection fees for 80 students. According to Sharad Joshi, “The institutes will be left with no choice to pass the onus to the students by increasing the fees. The decision would impact close to 50,000 students.”

The vice-chancellor of GGTU, IV Trivedi has reacted to this comment and reported to TOI saying, “The GST sum is collected by the government not by the university. I have gone through their plea and have asked them to furnish any court order exempting the GST in such cases. I have also sought guidance from the higher education department.”