Telangana HC attacks TAFRC for tardiness in issuing decision on engineering college fee structure

Telangana High Court on Thursday sternly criticized Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) for tardiness in finalizing engineering college fee structures for the next academic year. The court queried why no decision was taken by June, despite the fact that the proposals were submitted as early as December 2024.

 

Justice K Lakshman, who listened to the petitions last Thursday, was unhappy about the repeated delays in deciding on fees and called it a "mockery" that is repeated every year. "By the time counselling is over and classes begin, the fee issue is still pending," the judge added. The judge further added that colleges approaching court at the eleventh hour had become the order of the day.

 

Several engineering colleges protested against the government rejection of fee hike suggestions by these last-minute petitions. Senior advocate Avinash Desai, appearing on behalf of the colleges, stated proposals were submitted in December 2024 and cleared during a meeting in March. He argued that the proposals were duly entered into the committee register and sought it be produced in court. Justice Lakshman directed the officials to bring the register forthwith.

 

Senior counsel Sriraghuram, appearing for TAFRC, had submitted that in accordance with the directions of the Supreme Court, colleges should not be operated in the spirit of generating profits. He further pointed out that because time was of the essence, the committee had recommended that the existing fee structure over the "block period" (2022–23 to 2024–25) be extended to the 2025–26 academic year.

 

Special Government Pleader Rahul Reddy also opposed the increase, pointing out that some colleges were seeking a fee increase of as much as 70%. He warned that it would be a significant financial burden on the students and affect almost 1.5 lakh students in the state. The court indicated that it would issue interim orders on the fee increase on Friday. It also directed the registry to put the petition of Keshav Memorial College before a different judge.