Edu-leaders

Managements of technical institutions in Punjab have sought tax concessions from the state government for their survival.

In a meeting of nearly 100 educational institutions from Punjab held at Mohali, 10 km from here, Wednesday, the managements expressed concern at the deteriorating financial condition of the technical institutes in the state. The meeting was held under the banner of the Punjab Unaided Technical Institutions Association (PUTIA).

PUTIA president, J.S. Dhaliwal, said Punjab colleges had always contributed in the development of the state, especially in the field of education.

He said the institutions had to pay so many taxes like value added tax (VAT), change of land use (CLU), external development charges (EDC), stamp duty and others, that running them had become financially unviable.

Dhaliwal said colleges should not be charged commercial rate of electricity. The various taxes on the purchase of building material for the construction of college building should be exempted, he added.

Pointing to the large number of vacant seats in various colleges of Punjab, Dhaliwal further said that educational institutes did not produce any type of pollution but still they have to get clearance from the pollution board.

"Many of the colleges could not even cross double-digit figures in courses like management, architecture, hotel management and pharmacy. If the state government does not take corrective measures at the earliest, many of the institutes would have to close down," Dhaliwal said.

He pointed out that in the last 10 years, the fee structure has not been revised in Punjab, except for a marginal increase in the current 2010-11 fiscal year.

"The price index has skyrocketed during this period. The salaries, cost of construction, transport charges and other things are increasing regularly and institutes are not able to cope up in such situations. The state government should consider the revision of fee structure at the earliest," he added.