Demand to Roll Back Illegal Fee Hike Approvals for 695 Private Institutes in Maharashtra
Mumbai, 26th July 2025: In a significant development raising concerns over the functioning of Maharashtra’s Fee Regulatory Authority (FRA), a delegation led by student activist Kalpesh Yadav submitted a formal representation to top state officials on Friday, urging immediate cancellation of unauthorized fee hike approvals granted to 695 unaided private professional educational institutes across the state.
The delegation met with Vijay Achaliya, Chairperson of the FRA; B. Venugopal Reddy, Additional Chief Secretary of the Higher and Technical Education Department; and Dheeraj Kumar, Secretary of the Medical Education and Pharmaceuticals Department, and submitted a detailed memorandum demanding strict adherence to the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions and Fees) Act, 2015.
The crux of the complaint centers around alleged violations of Section 14(1)(b) of the 2015 Act, which mandates that unaided institutions must submit proposals for fee revision before October 30 of the previous academic year. However, the FRA is accused of illegally extending this deadline multiple times—up to August 15, 2025, by issuing seven successive circulars between October 25, 2024, and July 15, 2025.
These deadline extensions, according to the memorandum, were aimed at benefiting unaided private institutes financially and did not follow the statutory provisions. The activists claim that such illegal practices have led to unfair fee hikes, placing an undue financial burden on thousands of students and their families.
40 “Illegal” FRA Meetings Held Post-March 31
In another major claim, the student group alleged that the FRA convened around 40 meetings between April 2 and July 23, 2025, well beyond the statutory cut-off date of March 31, to grant approvals for fee hikes. These meetings were reportedly held without the mandatory presence of course-specific Directors from the concerned academic departments, raising questions about the procedural integrity of the approvals.
As per the FRA Act, the authority must decide upon submitted proposals within 120 days from the date of receipt and communicate the approved fee structure to the institute. If the institute disagrees with the decision, it may file a review petition within 15 days, and the FRA must resolve it before March 31.
The delegation claims these procedures were ignored, and approvals granted post-deadline were “illegally sanctioned.”
Alleged Prejudice Toward Private Institutes
The memorandum accuses the Fee Regulatory Authority of acting in collusion with private educational institutes, claiming the FRA’s circulars inviting fee hike proposals served as a “special invitation” for institutes to exploit the extended timeline. The activists termed this move as “a blatant misuse of authority” and “institutional encouragement of financial exploitation.”
According to Yadav, the FRA’s pattern of behavior has led to a perception among students and parents that the regulatory body is acting as a silent partner in the unauthorised enrichment of private education providers.
Demands Put Forward
The delegation has put forward the following demands:
-Immediate revocation of all fee hike approvals granted to 695 institutions through post-deadline proposals.
-Strict implementation of the previous academic year’s fee structure as per Section 14(1)(b).
-Cancellation of all 40 meetings held after March 31, 2025, and nullification of decisions taken therein.
-A warning that student-parent protests will intensify if the FRA fails to take corrective action promptly.
The FRA Chairperson Vijay Achaliya reportedly assured the delegation that the submitted memorandum will be presented before the Authority for due consideration and that necessary action will follow in line with legal frameworks.
If the FRA fails to act on this memorandum, student groups have warned of statewide agitation in the coming weeks.
