Vigilance Officials Search Private Colleges Over Scholarship, Fee Reimbursement Allegations
The searches were carried out following allegations that government funds were being misused through fake or bogus admissions.
Hyderabad: Vigilance and Enforcement inspections of private engineering colleges, with teams examining whether student numbers, admissions and scholarship claims match institutional records, as the government scrutinises irregularities linked to fee reimbursement.
The inspections, which began on Wednesday, continued across the state and on Saturday included institutions around Ibrahimpatnam, including Guru Nanak University, CVR and Sri Indu Engineering College, according to reports. Officials were checking actual student strength against college records, admissions, scholarship data and fee reimbursement calculations. The authorities have not yet released a consolidated report on their findings.
Earlier inspections involved teams of around 10-12 officials headed by an SP or DSP and covered colleges across the erstwhile 10 districts. A 67-point questionnaire is being used to examine admissions, attendance, faculty, infrastructure, laboratories, permissions, affiliation, results and utilisation of government funds.
Officials are also checking whether colleges are operating from approved locations, whether courses have the required permissions and whether AICTE approvals and university affiliation documents are in place, sources said, adding that fetails of discontinued courses and reductions in sanctioned seats are also being sought.
Scholarship beneficiaries are being cross-checked against admission registers, attendance records and biometric data, with officials examining whether attendance submitted to universities corresponds with college records. Faculty appointments, prescribed staffing norms, appointment orders and salary payments are also under scrutiny.
The inspections come amid a continuing dispute over large fee reimbursement arrears. A September 7 Assembly reply put the State’s outstanding fee reimbursement liability at ₹8,591.62 crore up to 2025-26.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has said reimbursement will be released to colleges found to be genuine and compliant with prescribed regulations, while institutions facing allegations of irregularities will remain under scrutiny. He also said the government plans to release ₹200 crore a month towards an estimated ₹2,500-crore liability from this year.
College managements, however, have questioned the timing of the inspections. Some have alleged that the exercise amounts to political retaliation for their demands for release of pending dues. One memeber of a private colleges association said that managements have been asked to cooperate and the checks were primarily focused on finances, scholarships and attendance, besides admissions, affiliation, infrastructure and laboratories. The government has not, so far, announced findings establishing irregularities at the colleges being inspected.
