Mumbai: Lakhs of students and parents across Maharashtra could face an additional financial burden running into crores of rupees after the Fee Regulating Authority allegedly approved fee increases for 1,272 unaided professional colleges beyond the statutory deadline.Yuva Sena has alleged that the FRA violated provisions of the Maharashtra Unaided Private Professional Educational Institutions law by conducting 26 meetings after March 31, the deadline prescribed for deciding review applications relating to college fee proposals.The meetings were reportedly held between April 27 and July 27, 2026, and covered institutions offering medical, engineering, management, pharmacy and MCA courses.Yuva Sena joint secretary Kalpesh Yadav has submitted a detailed representation to the state govt, demanding that all approvals granted after the deadline be cancelled immediately.Under the amended law, decisions on review applications are required to be completed before the beginning of the academic year. Yuva Sena has contended that meetings conducted after March 31, and the decisions taken at these meetings, are legally unsustainable.The organisation has also alleged that several institutions submitted their fee proposals after the prescribed deadline but were nevertheless granted approvals. In some instances, fee proposals for three consecutive academic years were reportedly approved simultaneously.These decisions have raised questions about the scrutiny applied to the financial claims submitted by colleges and the mechanism used to verify expenditure, infrastructure and other factors considered while determining fees.Yuva Sena has further alleged that fee revisions were cleared even though course-wise scrutiny cells, expert inspection committees and an independent infrastructure-verification system required under the amended law were not fully operational.The impact of the decisions may extend beyond students and parents. Since government departments reimburse fees and provide scholarships to eligible students, an increase in approved fees could also raise the financial burden on the state exchequer.Yuva Sena has demanded that the government cancel the approvals within 21 days and order either a judicial inquiry or an Anti-Corruption Bureau investigation into the roles of the FRA chairperson, its members and beneficiary institutions.It has warned that if the government fails to act, complaints will be submitted to the ACB and the Enforcement Directorate and legal proceedings will be initiated.“The FRA ignored clear provisions of the law while granting fee increases to 1,272 institutions,” Yadav said. “The government must cancel these approvals, provide relief to students and parents, and take action against those responsible.”The FRA officials refused to comment.
