Telangana to Release Rs.600 Crore in Fee Arrears

Hyderabad: Talks between the state government and the managements of private professional colleges, including degree and PG colleges, over the issue of fee reimbursement arrears ended on a positive note on Monday.

The government agreed to release Rs.600 crore immediately towards pending arrears and assured to clear another Rs.600 crore in a phased manner on a monthly basis. Following the decision, the college managements called off their indefinite strike, which they began earlier in the day, and confirmed that colleges would resume normal functioning from Tuesday.

The negotiations were led by deputy chief minister and finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on behalf of the government, while the Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI) chairman Nimmatoori Ramesh represented the college managements. Ministers N. Uttam Kumar Reddy and D. Sridhar Babu were also part of the government delegation during the discussions.

Briefing reporters on the outcome, Bhatti said that despite severe financial constraints, the government took the decision to safeguard the interests of lakhs of students who depend on the scheme to pursue higher education.

He recalled that the fee reimbursement scheme was introduced in 2008 by the then Congress government led by Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy to make professional and higher education accessible to socially and economically weaker sections, and reiterated the Congress government’s commitment to continue the scheme with the same spirit.

The arrears had accumulated to over `8,000 crore in the past five years, of which `5,200 crore were carried forward from the previous BRS regime. He said that although the state inherited a huge financial burden, the government decided to release `1,200 crore initially, out of which `600 crore would be disbursed immediately and the remaining amount cleared gradually every month. He criticised the previous BRS government for diluting the scheme by not releasing funds regularly, which, he said, caused hardships for students and institutions alike.

Bhatti added that the present Congress government was striving to restore fiscal discipline and bring stability to state finances. He also announced that a committee comprising senior officials from finance and education departments along with representatives of private college managements would soon be constituted to recommend measures for rationalising and streamlining the scheme for better results. Chief Secretary K. Ramakrishna Rao has been directed to issue orders within the next few days.

Expressing gratitude to the government for addressing the issue, FATHI chairman Nimmatoori Ramesh assured cooperation in implementing reforms in the scheme.