PAAP Seeks White Paper On AP’s Autonomous Engineering Colleges
Andhra Pradesh has over 400 engineering colleges, only around 30 are government-run, with over 350 under private management. Of these, nearly 165 institutions have been granted autonomous status: PAAP state president S. Narahari
TIRUPATI: The Parents Association of Andhra Pradesh (PAAP) has urged the state government to immediately release a white paper outlining the teaching standards, infrastructure, and admission procedures of all autonomous engineering colleges in the state.
Raising concerns over the rapid growth of autonomous colleges with minimal regulatory oversight, PAAP alleged that the autonomy granted to many institutions has resulted in serious deviations from AICTE and UGC norms, undermining educational quality and transparency.
PAAP state president S. Narahari noted that while Andhra Pradesh has over 400 engineering colleges, only around 30 are government-run, with over 350 under private management. Of these, nearly 165 institutions have been granted autonomous status—many, he claimed, without meeting basic academic and infrastructural norms.
He said the absence of strict regulation in these colleges has led to unchecked practices such as self-designed curricula, internal examination evaluations without third-party oversight, and direct admissions of students who fail to meet basic eligibility criteria such as EAMCET qualification.
Narahari criticised the state government for failing to establish government engineering colleges in the new districts formed in 2022. He pointed out that despite the passage of three years since the reorganisation, districts such as Parvathipuram Manyam, Alluri Sitarama Raju, Anakapalle, Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema, Bapatla, Palnadu, Nandyal, Sri Sathya Sai, Annamayya, and NTR still lack government engineering institutions. He described this as a clear neglect of the educational needs of economically weaker and middle-class students, and urged the state to establish at least two government colleges in each district without further delay.
The PAAP also expressed concern over the lack of public information related to college infrastructure, fee structures, student performance, and placement records. It demanded that all engineering colleges, especially autonomous ones, upload comprehensive information regarding academic resources, APHERC-approved fees, and examination results on their official websites.
The PAAP president called for stronger university oversight of examination processes, including mandatory CCTV surveillance and provisions for parental review. He also stressed the need for parent-faculty monitoring committees in every institution to ensure accountability. He appealed to Education Minister Nara Lokesh to take immediate steps to address these issues in the interest of students and their families.
