(MOREPIC1) Subhash Jindal/Chandigarh
In a significant judgment safeguarding the rights of veterinary students, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has categorically held that private unaided veterinary colleges cannot charge tuition fee during the compulsory internship period, terming such practice as exploitative, unjust and legally impermissible.
The Division Bench comprising Mr. Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Mr. Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the ruling while deciding a batch of writ petitions filed by veterinary Course BVSc & AH students Ginni Bansal and Others against the State of Punjab, the University (GADVASU), and a private veterinary college (Khalsa College of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Amritsar). The petitions challenged the levy of tuition fee during the internship period and sought enhancement of internship allowance.
Petitioner Council Sardavinder Goyal submitted that under the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) Regulations, internship is not a period of academic teaching or tuition but a phase of full-time professional service. He emphasized that interns perform duties akin to veterinary doctors, including emergency services, night duties, and work on Sundays and holidays, after obtaining provisional registration.
It is further contended that charging hefty tuition fees during this period, while simultaneously paying a meager internship allowance, amounts to indirect recovery of the allowance itself, leading to unjust enrichment by the institution. The practice, counsel argued, squarely violates the law laid down by the Supreme Court against profiteering in professional education.
Court observed that Internship begins after completion of the academic course and credit requirements. Charging tuition fee during internship defeats the very purpose of paying internship allowance and amounts to exploitation of students. High Court held that No tuition fee could have been charged during the internship period.
