TS, AP colleges await fee reimbursement; hold back degrees
Nearly 30,000 AP students are studying in Telangana colleges. Of whom 7,500 students pass out every year.
Vijayawada: The students of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, who are studying in the two non-local states, are having problems getting their original degree certificates from private colleges after completion of their courses.
Thanks to the negligent and partial attitude of the two state governments in the fees reimbursement scheme, students, especially from the poorer and middle class sections of AP and Telangana, are facing severe hardships to get their degrees.
According to the private college managements and technical education council reports, nearly 30,000 students of AP are studying in Telangana colleges, of whom nearly 7,500 students pass out every year.
Similarly, 6,000 students from Telangana are studying in colleges in Andhra Pradesh, out of whom 2,000 students pass out every year.
Though the students joined the colleges under the fee reimbursement scheme, their fees haven’t been reimbursed for the last two years.
As per rules, the fees reimbursement should be approved after annual verification every year. But both states have not completed the verification process and have not released funds for non-local students.
The private college managements are thus holding back the degree certificates of students as the governments have failed to pay the fees under the reimbursement scheme.
Telangana and Andhra Pradesh governments have been silent even though they have promised implementation of fees reimbursement for non-local students too.
Actually the two governments had to extend the fee reimbursement scheme for students who continued their studies in their states after bifurcation following court intervention.
As per the rules, Telangana students studying in Andhra and Andhra students studying in Telangana will have their fees reimbursed.
The courts have also clearly directed that private colleges should not keep the certificates after completion of courses.
However, the current situation is totally against the rules and promises made by the two governments.
Nayudu Divya, a native of Nandigama of Krishna district in AP, who completed her B.Pharmacy from a private college in Kodada, could not get her graduation certificates even though she has got admission for M. Pharmacy.
Though she got admission under the fees reimbursement scheme, the college management is demanding two years’ fees as the government has not paid up.
Recently one K. Satish Kumar, who completed his B.Tech degree in Hyderabad, had also approached this newspaper to bring the issue to the government’s notice as the private college management was reluctant to release his certificates due to pending fees.
A. Krishna, parent of student A. Raja said that his son had completed his Masters in Hyderabad and was facing the same problem.
Andhra Pradesh Private Colleges Association president Gadde Rajalingam said that the two governments must clear the fees of their students. But the governments haven’t even initiated the verification process.
Vijayawada Bar Association Human Rights wing convener and noted advocate Bandla Sambasiva Rao said that the colleges should not hold back the certificates and governments should pay the fees of students, wherever they might be studying. They will be taking up the issue as they have received some complaints regarding the matter.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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