WARANGAL: Students at some government educational institutions are under severe pressure from their respective college administrations to pay development and maintenance charges, with threats of not being promoted or allotted marks if they do not do so on time.
Many government colleges have begun sending messages to special WhatsApp groups asking students to pay up. Some students said managements had told them not to attend college if they failed to pay their maintenance fee or simply marked them absent.
Some students said college administrations even threatened them with blocking good grades or promotion to the next class. Furthermore, they warn students that if they do not pay the maintenance fee, they will be unable to attend seminars and exams.
Students at the Government Polytechnic College for Women in Hanamkonda claimed that the administration had been forcing them to pay `1,000 in the name of Development and Maintenance Fund and an additional `100 for the Telangana Green Fund for the past month. The college collected the same amount last year.
"We belong to a poor family, my parents are providing us an education by facing a lot of hardships," one of the students told the Deccan Chronicle under the condition of anonymity.
She stated that she paid development and maintenance fees last year, and that the college administration forced her to pay the money again this year. "They don't give us time to adjust the money. Rs 1,000 may not seem like much to some, but it is to my parents. What should I tell my parents, and where should I get money," she asked.
Prabhakar, a government college principal, told the Deccan Chronicle that the teachers were not at fault. The government had directed colleges to collect funds from students for the Development and Maintenance Fund and the Telangana Green Fund.
“We informed the students about the payment of money one month ago. If any student had any problems, they were also allowed to pay accordingly. However, no student is threatened that they will not be promoted or allowed to take the exams. Furthermore, the teachers are generous to the students and have helped many of them on numerous occasions,” he explained.
