Telangana and Andhra Pradesh undecided on varsities
The AP government wanted services to be continued as usual
Hyderabad: Telangana and AP failed to reach an agreement over services of Potti Sreeramulu Telugu and BR Ambedkar Open Universities on Thursday after the AP government refused to pay its TS counterpart.
Top officials of the TS and AP education ministry met here on Thursday as directed by the Hyderabad HC to discuss the agreements for continuation of services of the two varsities, located in TS, to centres and students in AP.
As per the AP Reorganisation Act, the two states should sign a MoU for continuation of services of institutions listed in the 10th Schedule in the state other than where they are located. This is within one year, but if no such agreement is reached, the Centre has to fix the terms and pass an order.
The AP government wanted services to be continued as usual. The TS government claimed that AP had allocated Rs 9 crore towards these universities in its Budget, but hadn’t released funds.
Sources said TS officials contended that continuation of services of the two varsities to students in AP had cost the TS government about Rs 14 crore, which was not reimbursed.
AP officials didn’t have any specific conditions, but wanted status quo. AP officials said they had already asked the Centre to pass orders on common bodies so there is no need for a MoU.