Private engineering college managements, however, have sought hikes as steep as 52 per cent to 84 per cent, with some institutions even requesting a 100 per cent fee increase.
Hyderabad: The government is reportedly hesitant to increase fees for BE or BTech courses for 2025-26, as proposed by the Telangana Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC). According to sources, the AFRC has recommended a college-wise fee increase ranging from 35 to 65 per cent.
Private engineering college managements, however, have sought hikes as steep as 52 per cent to 84 per cent, with some institutions even requesting a 100 per cent fee increase.
Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who also holds the education portfolio, is expected to take a final decision on the quantum of the fee hike before the commencement of the Eapcet engineering counselling, which is expected to begin by the middle of June. Before the counselling begins, the government has to issue orders specifying college wise fee structure to facilitate students and parents know the fees in advance.
The AFRC's report recommended a steep fee hike for the top-20 engineering colleges in the state. For instance, it has suggested an increase in the annual fee for CBIT from Rs 1.65 lakh to Rs 2.45 lakh, for MGIT from Rs 1.60 lakh to Rs 2.45 lakh, and for Geetanjali from Rs 1.20 lakh to Rs 1.55 lakh. Other notable increases include Gokaraju Rangaraju (from Rs 1.30 lakh to Rs 1.80 lakh), VNR Vignan Jyothy (from Rs 1.35 lakh to Rs 2.20 lakh) and Vasavi (from Rs 1.40 lakh to Rs 2.15 lakh). Similar hikes are proposed for several other prominent engineering colleges.
In the previous year, approximately 54,000 students were granted seats under the convenor quota, out of a total of 70,000 seats available, which represents around 77 per cent of students eligible for fee reimbursement. With such a high percentage of students benefiting from fee reimbursement, any substantial increase in fees could have significant financial and social repercussions.
Given these concerns, the Chief Minister has referred the AFRC's report to Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao and senior officials in the education department. He has instructed them to carefully review the report and offer suitable recommendations on the quantum of the fee hike that should be allowed.
GFX
Telangana Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee, headed by a retired judge of the High Court, revises fees for professional courses such as BE, BTech, MBA, MCA, MTech, and MBBS every three years.
Revision takes into account the audited income and expenditure statements submitted by private college managements.
The last fee revision was for the 2022-23 to 2024-25 academic year.
New fee structure will be applicable for a three-year block period starting from 2025-26 and last until 2027-28.
The AFRC's report recommended a steep fee hike for the top-20 engineering colleges.
Government implements a fee reimbursement for students in convener (merit) quota during counselling.
Any sharp rise in fees could directly affect the government's finances due to the increased reimbursement burden.
Steep hike could lead to criticism from students, parents and opposition parties.
