Khammam: Engineering students took out a rally here on Monday against the sharp increase in fees by college managements. The rally started at Wyra Road and ended at the Collectorate.
The students raised slogans against the state government and the Telangana higher education council. Student leader Itikala Ramakrishna said, “The council connived with the engineering college managements and backed the fee increase proposal. Managements approach court and get judgments in favour of fee increase. The council does not properly argue the case and help the managements win.”
Many engineering colleges under ‘B’ category have increased the annual fee from `35,000 to `70,000, he said, and urged the government to set things right.
“Education is now made a business. The three private universities including the one owned by TRS MLC Palla Rajeswarreddy are the best examples. The government is aiming to allow five more private universities in Telangana. The privatization of the education sector is not good,” he argued.
He said 30 engineering colleges were collecting fees ranging from `5 lakh to `30 lakh in four years. The “B’ category seats should be filled based on merit followed by counseling, he said.
Engineering student N Sivasankar said, “The managements are collecting `30,000 to `50,000 from the students, who are getting the money back under the fee reimbursement scheme. This is a burden on our parents.”
P Ramu, another engineering student, said, “We are worried about the increase in fee in colleges and our parents are taking loans to pay the fees. The government should find a way for quality education at reasonable fees in Telangana”.
