Fee reimbursement issue: Pvt degree college owners accuse govt of playing with students’ future

College owners in Mancherial have accused the Telangana government of jeopardising student futures by delaying Rs 1,200 crore in fee reimbursement dues. Despite promises ahead of Diwali, only Rs 250 crore was released.

Mancherial: Owners of private general and professional degree colleges accused the government of playing with the lives of students by delaying the release of fee reimbursement pending arrears for the past five years.

They submitted representations at the statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar here on Tuesday, demanded the release of Rs 1,200 crore due under the fee reimbursement scheme.

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P. Upender Reddy, district president of the college owners’ association, said the government had promised to release Rs 1,200 crore ahead of the Diwali festival when colleges were shut in protest over the arrears.

However, only Rs 250 crore was released. He alleged that Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, who earlier announced a roadmap to clear the arrears, was now expressing inability to do so.

The association demanded that the government immediately release the remaining Rs 900 crore pertaining to the academic years 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025. The owners warned that they would intensify their agitation if the government failed to act, pointing out that repeated representations and appeals had gone unanswered.