AICTE Refund Policy 2026 – 2027: The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has officially released the Revised Academic Calendar for the 2026–27 academic year, detailing mandatory timelines for all approved technical institutions, engineering colleges, and management institutes across India offering PGDM and PGCM courses.
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A lot of students find themselves in a tough spot when they get a better offer after already joining a college, especially when they’re unsure about how to cancel their admission and get their fees back. To address this issue and make this easier, AICTE releases clear guidelines every year on how to withdraw from the respective programs and get a full refund.
AICTE Refund Policy 2025: All institutes approved by the council must commence classes for first-year students on or before 14th August, 2025. This is as per the academic calendar for 2025-2026 released by the AICTE, which has some important guidelines for: Technical Institutions, Standalone PGDM / PGCM Institutions, Institutions with ODL / Online Programs(s) / Courses(s).
KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE CIRCULAR: –
FOR TECHNICAL INSTITUTIONS–
- Last date for Lateral Entry Admission to second-year courses for newly admitted students: 14th August, 2025
- Last date up to which 1st year students can be admitted against vacancies: 14th August, 2025
- Commencement of classes for first-year students of technical courses: 14th August, 2025
- Last date for cancellation of seats for technical courses & receiving full FEE refund: 11th August, 2025.
FOR PGDM/PGCM INSTITUTIONS-
- Last date of grant approval by AICTE: 30th June, 2025
- Last date of admission to courses in PGDM/PGCM institutions: 31st July, 2025
- Commencement of the academic session for the PGDM/PGCM courses for the newly admitted students: 1st August 2025
- Last date for cancellation of admission for courses in PGDM/PGCM Institutions, including a full fee refund: 31st July, 2025.
For institutions with ODL/ Online Program(s) / Course(s) is advised to follow the AICTE Calendar (need to paste Circular -AICTE) as per the policy of the University Grants Commission (UGC)
All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) released the academic calendar for the 2025-2026 session, which is available on the council’s official website.
As per the official AICTE refund policy notice-
- If a student withdraws before the commencement of the academic session, the institution must refund the full fee after deducting a processing fee of no more than ₹1,000.
- If the seat left vacant by the withdrawing student is occupied by another candidate before the admission deadline, the institution is required to refund the collected fee with proportional deductions for tuition and hostel rent, if applicable.
- Institutions are strictly prohibited from retaining original school or institution leaving certificates to compel students to continue their admission.
- Institutions must maintain a candidate waitlist for smooth admission replacements and adhere to realistic timelines, avoiding premature deadlines that limit students’ choices.
Institutions that don’t follow these guidelines risk serious consequences, including losing their approval and recognition from AICTE and UGC. Both regulatory bodies are committed to taking necessary steps to enforce compliance, whether on their initiative or based on specific complaints. The AICTE is empowered under Section 10(n) and Section 20(1) of the AICTE Act, along with the directives from the Ministry of Education, to counter the commercialization of technical education.
