Eamcet counselling hit by fee indecision

Hyderabad: Indecision on part of both governments on the fee reimbursement issue is throwing the academic schedule haywire.

Officials have been unable to decide on a date to begin counselling due to ambiguity on the fee reimbursement issue. The start of the engineering academic year is set to be delayed despite directions from the Supreme Court to begin classes from August 1.

Ever since the bifurcation, Telangana and AP have locked horns over the fee reimbursement issue with the TRS government saying that it will reimburse the fees of only those students who hail from Telangana. The AP government has threatened several times that it will go to court on the issue. But no decision has been taken by either government. Telangana CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao has told his officials that the matter is not of immediate importance.

This has left education officials in a quandary as Eamcet counselling can’t be conducted unless there is clarity on the fee reimbursement issue

Officials of the Eamcet Convening Committee held a meeting on Friday evening but couldn’t decide on a date to commence counselling. Eamcet counselling has already been delayed three times now with the first announced date being June 29.

AP HRD minister, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, had announced the probable dates of July 5 and then July 10. But counselling will not begin on July 10 too.

“Unless there is clarity we cannot decide the dates and issue notification. If a student from a weaker background doesn’t know if fees will be reimbursed, how will he choose a college? Students are the worst affected here,” a top official said.

The SC had directed the states to begin classes from August 1. But officials are already contemplating filing a memo with the SC that classes will be delayed  due to these issues. They will be unable to begin classes on the directed date due to the special circumstances of bifurcation.