Students on Wednesday strongly opposed any increase in engineering and pharmacy college fees in Telangana, arguing that higher costs would push economically weaker students away from higher education.
Hyderabad:Students on Wednesday strongly opposed any increase in engineering and pharmacy college fees in Telangana, arguing that higher costs would push economically weaker students away from higher education.
A delegation of them submitted a memorandum to Telangana Fee Regulatory Committee (TFRC) chairman, Justice Gopal Reddy, urging the panel to reconsider any fee hike and ensure that professional education remains accessible to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Speaking on the issue, student leaders R. Naik and Shiva Krishna pointed out that engineering and pharmacy education in Telangana has become increasingly expensive. “For students from marginalised and rural backgrounds, the idea of pursuing higher education itself is becoming a distant dream due to exorbitant fees. Many students are forced to stop at the intermediate level because their families cannot afford lakhs of rupees demanded by colleges,” they told Deccan Chronicle.
They also criticised the current fee revision process, which takes place once every three years based on reports submitted by college managements. The students alleged that some private colleges provide misleading financial reports to justify fee hikes. “Instead of treating education as service, certain institutions are turning it into a business by manipulating data,” Students Protection Forum memeber Poola Aravind said.
To tackle this, the students proposed stricter audits. They urged TFRC to conduct surprise inspections of engineering colleges and verify actual salary slips of faculty members along with official fee receipts collected from students. “This will help control the arbitrary fee hikes and ensure that faculty members are paid fair wages,” one of the students, Jalleda Brahmam, demanded.
Responding to the petition, Justice Gopal Reddy is said to have assured that the TFRC was carefully examining the reports submitted by colleges. “We are not approving the fee hikes as demanded by colleges. Any increase, if necessary, will be reasonable and ensure that students from weaker sections can still afford engineering and pharmacy education,” he said.
