The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked universities and colleges to refund full fees to students who withdraw their admission applications before October 31.

If students cancel their admissions after October 31 till December 31, institutions can deduct a maximum of Rs 1,000 as processing fee and refund the remaining amount.UGC secretary Rajnish Jain wrote a letter in this regard to vice-chancellors of all universities and principals of all colleges on August 2.

The decision has been taken for the 2022-23 academic session for which the admission process in central universities is set to be delayed.The admission in central universities will be done on the basis of the Central University Entrance Test (CUET).

The National Testing Agency is currently holding the CUET. The results are expected in September. In that case, the admission will continue till October.However, many students have already taken admission in private universities, which are set to complete the process this month.

Under the existing UGC guidelines, if a student withdraws their application more than 15 days before the closure of the admission process, the institution can deduct up to 5 per cent of the fees, subject to a maximum of Rs 5,000. If the applications are withdrawn in the last 15 days, students will get back 90 per cent of the fees.

Withdrawal of application within 15 days after the closure of the process will entitle them for an 80 per cent refund while withdrawal between the 16th day and the 30th day after the closure will entitle them to 50 per cent refund. However, students will not get any refund if they withdraw after 30 days of the closure of the admission process.