Can an educational institution refuse to refund the fee to a student withdrawing from a course, saying that the seat vacated by the student was not filled up and therefore it would suffer a loss if it refunded the money?

Can a college use an undertaking taken from the student at the time of admission saying that he / she will not ask for a refund to retain the fee paid by the student?

Can an educational institution deny a student’s claim for a refund by pointing to its terms and conditions saying that refund is not permissible under any circumstances?

In a recent case an educational institution came up with two arguments. First, the students (four of them had filed separate petitions) had given an undertaking forfeiting the fee in case they quit the course. Second, as per the guidelines issued by the director, technical education, Haryana and the Haryana State Counselling Society, a student would be entitled to a refund only if a new student filled up the vacancy caused by the withdrawal of the first student. In this case, it had not happened. So, on both these counts, the students were not entitled to any refund of the fee paid, the college argued.

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission dismissed the first contention on the ground that such an undertaking was not legally binding. As far as the second argument was concerned, the court pointed out that here, out of 300 seats sanctioned to the college for different courses in the academic session 2008-09, the institution could forward a list of only 69 candidates for taking the university examination.

Due to such large vacancies the institution had no waiting list of admission seekers. Therefore, the question of filling up the vacancy caused by the exit of the four students did not arise at all and the students could not be blamed for the vacancies. So it directed the college to refund the amount after deducting Rs 1,000 towards administrative charges and pay 9 per cent interest on the amount. (Ganapati College of Engineering for Girls vs Vijeta, R.P. No. 347 of 2012).

So, if you have a problem with regard to getting your fee back, the first option is to complain to the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). But be sure to do it without any delay. If for any reason that fails, take your complaint to the consumer court.