Find other mode of payment for engineering application: HC to Anna University
Chennai: Madras high court has directed Anna University to find out possibilities of adding other modes of payment apart from credit card, debit card or internet banking to help students from rural areas to submit online applications for engineering courses.
A division bench comprising Justices V. Parthiban and P.D. Audikesavalu gave the directive and posted to May 10, further hearing of the public interest litigations filed by DMK MLA CVMP Ezhilarasan and advocate P. Ponpandian, which sought a direction to the Anna University to conduct admission to engineering colleges for the academic year 2018-19 through both online and offline modes.
When the case came up for hearing on Wednesday, senior counsel P. Wilson appearing for Ezhilarasan submitted that the online mode allows payment of the prescribed fee only through three modes namely credit card, debit card, or internet banking.
It was unfair to expect a student from a rural area to have such facility and this was nothing but a clear cut attempt to prevent such students from seeking admission to engineering course, he added.
Wilson said a 2012 policy note submitted by the state government in the legislative assembly stated that broadband internet facility would be made available to all the rural areas of the state by 2023. As of today, over 16,000 villages have no such facility.
When the fact was so, how can a student from such areas expected to apply through the online mode without even basic infrastructure. Moreover, Tamil medium students would also apply for the course and the university was also offering engineering courses in Tamil medium. But, the entire contents of the online application were in English, making it difficult for Tamil medium students to follow, Wilson added.
