Alvas College asked to refund fees

[email protected] (Govind D. Belgaumkar, The Hindu, Photo Ahmed Anwar)
March 7, 2011

alv

Mangalore, March 7: The Dakshina Kannada District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum has asked the Alvas Education Foundation to refund Rs. 37,460 paid as fees by a student.


The Moodbidri-based Alvas Pre-University College, which a student Anushree B. Shetty of Shiriyara village in Udupi district, sought to join, had declined to refund the fees under the forfeiture clause.

Ms. Shetty and her father M. Balakrishna Shetty said in their complaint they had paid Rs. 37,950 on May 27, 2009 for 2009-10.

Ms. Shetty was allotted boarding facility at Hemavathi Hostel. She found that the room was small and it had to be shared with three others.

They said the college had initially agreed to accommodate her in some other room but later, on its inability to do so, Ms. Shetty joined some other college.

They sought a direction to repay the amount along with 18 per cent interest and claimed compensation of Rs. 30,000, including the cost of litigation. The college and the foundation said she had joined the college on her own volition and maintained that at no point of time she had informed them about any shortcomings. They contended that as per the forfeiture clause in the application form, signed by them, the educational fee as well as hostel fee was not refundable. They said the hostel had spacious rooms with table, and chair, cot, cupboard, electrical lights and fan.

Mr. Shetty produced a registered letter of May 29, 2009 sent to the college explaining the circumstances that forced his daughter to shift to another college.

The forum said: “The opposite parties (had) not taken any steps either to change the hostel facility or … (ask Anushree) to make their own arrangement with regard to the hostel facility.” It said this amounted to deficiency of service.

It added “… The Opposite party institution cannot compel the students to avail the hostel if they are not comfortable.”

It observed that the college should have refunded the fees because the student had not availed the service of the college. Regarding the forfeiture clause, the forum quoted State Commissions and National Commission to say that “no service provider like educational centres can be allowed to forfeit the fees received in advance in case the student has not availed the service.” The forum in its order of February 8 asked the college to refund within 30 days, Rs. 37,460 after certain deductions with an interest at 8 per cent from the date of complaint till the date of payment. It awarded Rs. 1,000 as cost of the litigation expenses.

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News Network
May 16,2020

Udupi, May 16: Close on the heels of six Covid-19 cases being detected in a little over 24 hours, Udupi recorded its first death of a Covid-19 patient. The victim is a 54-year-old man from Mumbai, who died due to a heart attack on Thursday. His reports came back on Saturday, and confirmed that he had Covid-19. The Udupi district administration has arranged to carry out his last rites as per government designated guidelines for Covid-19 victims.

A medical bulletin issued by the superintendent of Kasturba Hospital, Manipal, stated that the patient was admitted due to a heart-related issue on May 13.

Some members on the team that treated the patient have been quarantined. The hospital’s emergency department will operate as usual, and the outpatient department will operate as usual from 8.30am to 1pm, following government guidelines, the bulletin said. Deputy commissioner G Jagadeesha said that since the patient was from Mumbai, the authorities collected his swab sample for testing, as a precautionary measure.

The man suffered from chest pain, and was initially taken to the taluk hospital at Kundapur from where he was shifted to Kasturba Hospital, due to the seriousness of his condition. The doctors operated on him on May 13, and he suffered a severe heart attack on May 14 and died, the DC said. “Three hospital staff without PPE kits, who attended to the patient, have been quarantined,” the DC said, adding that the operating doctors and nurses had worn PPE kits.

In addition, 5 others who travelled with the person from Mumbai and 57 people with him at the Kundapur isolation centre, have been designated as primary contacts, and 38 others as secondary contacts, and quarantined. The staff at Kundapur taluk hospital too had taken precautions in handling the patient, the DC said. Udupi presently has six active cases, including a 1-year-old child and 5 others, all of whom returned from Dubai on May 12.

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News Network
April 30,2020

Bengaluru, Apr 30: Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, has directed the Bengaluru City Police to return all the vehicles, which were seized during the Coronavirus Lockdown period, for having flouted rules.

The City Police Commissioner, Bhaskar Rao, informed that it was decided to return the seized vehicles to the owners, after verifying documents.

He said that the vehicles had been seized while enforcing strict guidelines, issued to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus, in the city.

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Shodhan Prasad
May 14,2020

Dubai: The father of a 16-year old girl who came on a visit visa to the UAE to visit him is desperate for help as she has been hospitalised, even as he has been rendered jobless.

On February 6, Amber D’Couto flew into Dubai from Mangaluru, India, along with her older sister, Alison, 19. The girls wanted to visit their dad Vivian D’Couto who was working in an automobile company at Jebel Ali.

The father was overjoyed to meet his girls until things took an ugly turn.

Two months into her stay, Amber fell seriously ill, even as D’Couto was served a termination letter by his company.

D’Couto said his daughter, a Grade 10 student, was perfectly healthly but suddenly developed high fever and began vomiting. She was rushed to a private hospital in Qusais which could not accommodate her because of the ongoing COVID-19 situation.

On April 30, she was admitted to another private hospital in the same area. After testing negative for COVID-19 thrice, she was diagnosed with acute pancreatis and Rheumatoid fever.

While the girl remains in hospital, the bill has spiralled to over Dh50,000, D’Couto said, adding that without a job now, he had no means to pay the huge amount.

“Amber is a very sweet child and a very bright student. She was living a very healthy life prior to coming to Dubai. But she is so ill now and under round-the-clock vigil in the ICU. The treatment for her condition is very specific and costly.”

A worried man, he said: “My daughter was on a visit visa and she had no insurance. We appeal to compassionate people to help us out in this difficult hour. Due to the current situation, I have lost my job and I am unable to pay for her medical expenses. Her condition has not stabilised yet and I am taking each day as it comes. I trust the doctors to help her recover, and we hope to be repatriated to India at the earliest so she can get further medical care.”

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