Harish Rao Blasts CM Revanth Government for Fee Reimbursement Neglect

Hyderabad: Former minister Harish Rao on Sunday accused the Revanth Reddy government of negligence and deceptive handling of fee reimbursement funds, which remain unpaid for over two years despite repeated demands for payment from educational institutions. This lapse has pushed colleges to the brink of closure, jeopardising the future of nearly 13 lakh students, he said. With semester exams being postponed, the Chief Minister, who holds the education portfolio, has remained inactive, the BRS leader alleged.

With protests, hunger strikes, and indefinite shutdowns being planned from Monday, Harish Rao said Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka's warning to “not create trouble” had done little to assuage the concerns of managements and students. Harish Rao questioned the government for claiming it lacked the funds to clear pending dearness allowance payments for teachers and government employees while floating tenders worth `2.5 lakh crore for numerous projects.

Harish Rao claimed that during the previous BRS government, then-Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao had reimbursed fees even during demonetisation and the Covid-19 pandemic, with over Rs 20,000 crore disbursed across nine and a half years. Since the Congress formed government, delays and arrears have worsened, he said.

He said the government’s antagonistic stance toward Gurukulas and refusal to clear reimbursement dues had demoralised the educational institutions. He also alleged that the government’s claims of school enrollment, made in the Assembly, had been exposed by the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data which had showed a decrease of 47,000 students this year.

Harish Rao challenged the government to honor its manifesto promise to release reimbursements immediately, warning that failure would force BRS to escalate its fight to protect Telangana’s education sector, particularly for BC, SC, and ST students.