BHOPAL: The departments of SC, ST and OBC Welfare owe more than Rs 25 corers to the Professional Examination Board (PEB). If the amount is paid to it, the examination fees for candidates may be reduced by half.
PEB director Bhaskar Lachakar informed Free Press that the Board conducts several entrance examinations for recruitments in various departments. The cost of conducting the exam is around Rs 553 per student. The board charges Rs 500 from the general category students and Rs 250 from reserved category ones. The remaining amount of Rs 250 of the reserved category students is reimbursed by the departments concerned to the board.
But for past many years, the departments are not paying the dues to the board. Between April 2016 and January 2017, the board wrote several letters to the departments to clear the dues and the chairman also personally met many officers. But nothing came out of the exercise. Only Schedule Tribes Welfare Department has paid a measly Rs 9 lakh.
In this period, the board conducted a series of entrance exam including one for recruitment of police constables and others. These departments have not paid approximately Rs 25 crores against fee concession granted to reserved category students.
He also added that the board is facing a serious financial crisis.
The board is going to write a strict letter to the departments not to send indents to organise exams until their dues are cleared. It is possible that the PEB may refuse to conduct any exam in the future. If the board gets the amount, it may reduce the examination fees. The general category student may have to pay Rs 350 and the reserved category students Rs 150.
