Several private colleges and universities have been accused of dithering on refunding admission fee to students seeking to opt out, despite government guidelines and reminders on returning the money.

The relative of a student who took admission to a bachelor’s programme at Arch College of Design and Business in Jaipur in the current academic session said the refund had not been made although the application was submitted three months ago.

The relative of the student, who did not want to reveal either the subject or the amount paid as admission fee, said the student and family got “disillusioned” during the orientation programme.

“In the orientation programme, the authorities asked those enrolled to scout for new students to be able to receive a scholarship amount,” the relative said.

“We were not impressed with the college facilities. We had chosen the college by looking at its website. The college facilities were not so good. We wanted to withdraw and demanded a refund of the admission fee in July. The institute is yet to refund the money,” the relative added.

This newspaper sent an email to the founder and director of the college, Archana Surana, asking about the delay, but did not receive a response till Wednesday evening.

Despite the higher education regulator, the University Grants Commission (UGC), issuing guidelines on full refund of admission fees to students opting out before October 31, several private institutions have been accused of violating it.

The UGC on Tuesday sent a letter to the vice-chancellors of all universities and the principals of all colleges, urging them to follow the guidelines on refund or face stern action.

“The commission has received references in the form of RTI applications/ complaints/ public grievances/ court cases regarding non-refund fees by some universities/ institutions violating the UGC guidelines/ notifications. The Commission has taken serious view of the complaints,” said the letter issued by UGC secretary Rajnish Jain.

The commission listed the measures that could be taken in case of refusal to refund fees: withdrawal of declaration of fitness of the institution to receive grants from the UGC and recommendation to the affiliating university for withdrawal of affiliation. The UGC is not known to have exercised these powers.

This year, admissions to universities and colleges have been delayed mainly because of the technical glitches that marred the maiden Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate courses. All central universities and some state universities and colleges are taking in students through the CUET, held in July and August.

Several students who have got admission offers from central universities are keen to withdraw from the private colleges or universities they had enrolled in as a stopgap arrangement so as not to lose a year.

In August, the UGC had asked universities and colleges to refund the full admission fee in case a student withdraws from the course before October 31. For students leaving after October 31 but before December 31, an institution can keep a maximum of Rs 1,000 as processing fee and refund the remaining amount.