Khammam round-table seeks clearance of fee reimbursement arrears

Speakers at a round-table meeting in Khammam demanded that the Telangana government immediately clear pending fee reimbursement and scholarship arrears. Student unions, college managements and parents said the issue affects students' futures and vowed to continue their agitation until the dues are paid.

Khammam: The speakers at a round-table meeting held here on Saturday on fee reimbursement and scholarship arrears demanded that the Congress government address the issue forthwith, rising above politics.

The meeting was organised by BRS leader Anugula Rakesh Reddy and was attended by representatives of all-party student unions, caste-based associations, college managements and students’ parents.

---

Addressing the gathering, former Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar said the fee reimbursement scheme had played a pivotal role in the establishment of colleges and the increase in seat capacity for higher education.

The Congress government during 2004-2014 and subsequently the BRS government during 2014-2023 implemented the scheme without interruption. The Congress government released only Rs 600 crore over two and a half years and that too only under pressure from the courts.

The issue had been transformed from a student concern into a problem for college managements. The government was intimidating colleges that raised questions. Refusing to clear arrears from the previous government’s tenure was an attempt to evade governmental responsibility.

The government claims a lack of funds for fee reimbursement while undertaking projects worth lakhs of crores, such as the Musi Project and ‘Future City’. The government was unable to spend Rs 9,000 crore on the students’ future.

The government was planning to dilute the scheme by not clearing fee reimbursement and scholarship arrears. That was why Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy had retained the education portfolio himself, but he had completely failed in managing the education department, Ajay Kumar said.

MLC Tata Madhusudhan made it clear that the BRS would continue its struggle until the fee reimbursement arrears were fully cleared. The party would extend its support to the joint action plans undertaken by student unions and Left-wing organisations.

Rakesh Reddy stated that the issue of pending scholarships and fee reimbursements concerns the future of students and transcends politics. Student unions, caste-based associations, college managements and parents had all come together on a single platform to exert pressure on the government, affirming that the agitation would continue until the arrears were paid.