Will Professional Colleges in T'gana Shut Down Indefinitely Over Fee Reimbursement Arrears?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Colleges in Telangana face indefinite closure due to unpaid fee reimbursement.
- Pending dues amount to Rs. 10,000 crore, impacting faculty salaries.
- Students are protesting for their withheld certificates.
- FATHI demands government action by September 30.
- Legal rulings are supporting students' rights to their certificates.
Hyderabad, Sep 12 (NationPress) Private professional colleges in Telangana are set to close indefinitely starting September 15 unless the state government addresses the backlog of fee reimbursement payments, as announced by the college management on Friday.
All types of institutions, including engineering, pharmacy, nursing, MBA, MCA, and B.Ed colleges, will cease operations from September 15 if the government fails to disburse the pending dues.
The Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Education (FATHI) submitted a notice regarding this decision to the Chairman of the Telangana Council of Higher Education, Prof. V. Balakista Reddy, on Friday.
As per the Federation, the outstanding fee reimbursement arrears have reached approximately Rs. 10,000 crore. They indicated they might reconsider their decision to close colleges indefinitely if the government releases Rs 1,200 crore related to already issued tokens.
FATHI Chairman N. Ramesh stated that the inability to receive these substantial fee reimbursement payments has hindered the managements' ability to operate the institutions, resulting in faculty and staff salaries remaining unpaid for several months.
Additionally, FATHI has declared September 15 as a black day, coinciding with Engineers’ Day, which honors the birth anniversary of Sir Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya. They warned that if the government does not provide an assurance for the release of Rs 1,200 crore by September 30, the indefinite closure of colleges will proceed.
On September 16, degree and postgraduate colleges will also participate in a bandh to demand the immediate release of fee reimbursement arrears.
The federation leaders criticized the government for failing to resolve the issue of pending payments. Instead of addressing this critical problem, the government has convened a meeting with university vice-chancellors to discuss implementing a facial recognition attendance system linked to the fee reimbursement scheme.
Students are also bearing the brunt of the delay in fee reimbursement. Many have reported that colleges are withholding their certificates until the government settles the outstanding dues.
In response, students have staged protests demanding the return of their certificates. In a related case, the Telugu High Court instructed Malla Reddy Engineering College (Autonomous), Maisammaguda, to return a student's original educational certificates without demanding tuition fee payments.