Professional Colleges in Telangana Seek Immediate Aid from CM Revanth Reddy
HYDERABAD: The previous BRS government has left a staggering dues of `6,500 crore pertaining to fee reimbursement and scholarships of 13 lakh students from poorer sections pursuing professional courses like engineering, pharmacy, MBA, nursing etc. It did not release funds for the past four years for 13 lakh students every year since the 2021-22 academic year as a result of which hundreds of professional colleges in the state are now on the verge of closure ahead of the new academic year 2024-25 set to commence in June.
During a meeting with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Thursday, the managements of professional colleges urged him to come to their rescue as well as students from poorer sections by releasing funds immediately.
As a result of uncleared dues, the colleges told the Chief Minister that they were forced to stop the payment of salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff for the past eight months, and defaulted on the repayment of loans to banks. If dues are not cleared immediately, they said the colleges would be on the verge of closure. They also urged the Chief Minister to release arrears before the commencement of the new academic year 2024-25 in June..
The managements who met the Chief Minister under the aegis of the Federation of Professional Colleges of Telangana State, said the previous BRS government had neglected higher education sector and ruined professional colleges by not releasing scholarships and fee reimbursement of nearly 13 lakh students from poorer sections every year since 2021.
Despite repeated attempts to meet the then chief minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao, they said they could not meet him to explain their grievances as officials used to send them back saying he did not give an appointment to meet him.
They said the BRS government had released tokens worth Rs 1,500 crore in September 2023 towards payment of arrears prior to the Assembly elections as an election gimmick to gain political mileage. However, the government did not release the funds to colleges as it directed the finance department to freeze all payments until further orders.
The federation urged the Chief Minister to make part payments, release `1,500 in the first instalment for which tokens were issued in September last year.
The federation comprising associations of engineering, pharmacy, MBA and nursing colleges thanked Revanth Reddy for his statement on according top priority to the education sector.
Federation representatives K.S. Ravi Kumar (engineering), T. Jaipal Reddy (pharmacy), K. Sudhir Kumar (MBA), S. Parameshwar Reddy (nursing) informed Revanth Reddy that engineering students, who are eligible for the state government’s fee reimbursement and scholarships, left college without paying fees.