Telangana's Private Colleges refuse talks with Education Commissioner over pending fee reimbursement

The stalemate over fee reimbursement in Telangana grew further on Wednesday, with the Telangana Private Degree and PG Colleges Management Association refusing to meet Commissioner of Technical Education Dr. Devasena to discuss pending dues. Though the Commissioner invited management for a discussion to resolve the increasing crisis, the college managements remained firm on their stand and demanded the immediate release of at least 50% of the pending reimbursement before dialogue could be resumed.

This financial crisis has been further aggravated by the state government, which did not honour the earlier assurance of releasing the funds before Diwali. “We received a call from the commissioner on Wednesday evening inviting us for talks, but we decided not to meet her until 50 per cent of the pending reimbursement amount is released. Our agitation will continue,” said Dr. Bojja Suryanarayana Reddy, President of Telangana Private Degree and PG Colleges Management Association and member of FATHI.

The state had earlier assured that ₹1,200 crore would be disbursed in advance ahead of the beginning of the festive season to pay the backlog amount due to the private colleges. However, only ₹300 crore has so far been released by the state while ₹900 crores are in arrears. The financial burden due to this has driven many colleges to the edge, forcing indefinite closure of several private degree and postgraduate colleges across Telangana.

The managements of colleges say that without substantial reimbursement, they cannot pay faculty salaries, keep the infrastructure running or continue with student services. Protracted delay, they say, has jeopardised academic operations and kept thousands of teaching and non-teaching staff in penury.

Students and parents demand that the government release funds to continue education as soon as the impasse intensifies and academic activities are disrupted. According to the group, the issue would worsen if the government did not act swiftly since the agitation would not stop until some financial relief was given.