APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) has permitted affiliated private self-financing engineering colleges to submit financial guarantees in the form of fixed deposit receipts in three installments. The decision was made on a recommendation of the Syndicate Standing Committee on Affiliation of the University.
According to an official, the first instalment of ₹10 lakh can be submitted as fixed deposit receipt (FDR) in two payments before March 31, and the second instalment of ₹15 lakh as FDR before December 31.
Vice Chancellor M.S. Rajasree said the decision was taken on the basis of requests made by various self-financing engineering college managements.
According to UGC regulations, colleges that are not run by the State government and offer professional programmes must maintain a corpus fund of ₹35 lakh for each programme in the form of FDR for a minimum of three years. The interest thus accrued from the fund can be used by the college for strengthening its infrastructure with the permission of the university.
Based on the norm, KTU decided in February 2019 to request ₹25 lakh as financial guarantee from self-financing engineering colleges. The decision could not be implemented owing to the opposition raised by several managements.
KTU has decided to proceed with the decision after the cases against the move were disposed of by the Kerala High Court in February 2022.
