Several private unaided engineering and professional colleges in Hyderabad have introduced a new payment-based locker facility for parents and students who studied, completed, and left the colleges in the last two to three years. This new scheme was created because students and their parents were not paying the pending college fees to retrieve their certificates left with the college.
The Dean of Students Welfare at a top engineering institution in the city explained that some students who received job offers through campus recruitment paid the fees without waiting for fee reimbursement. This is because they risk losing the job offers if their original certificates are not submitted on time. However, students who did not qualify during campus recruitment in recent years have not collected their original certificates.
Students who owe fee reimbursement dues had their original certificates held back by colleges. Those who qualified in campus recruitments were allowed to take copies of their originals to join companies, with an agreement to submit final certificates later. Many students in this situation are now clearing their pending dues within a few months.
Despite this, the number of campus recruitments has decreased due to COVID-19, leaving 40 to 60 percent of students without offer letters. Their original certificates are accumulating in colleges, as efforts to convince parents to clear dues and retrieve certificates have mixed results. Some students admit they cannot pay the fees.
Now, colleges are informing students that they must clear their dues and collect their original certificates within a specified time frame. If they fail to do so, the college will charge rental fees for safekeeping, similar to a locker facility offered by banks for valuables.
