Telangana engineering fee revision sparks political row over alleged favouritism

Telangana’s revised engineering college fee structure has sparked political controversy. Colleges linked to BRS leaders faced sharp fee cuts, while institutions tied to Congress leaders received hikes. Opposition figures allege bias, and at least one management plans legal action.

Hyderabad: The Telangana Congress government’s engineering fee revision has set off a new political row, with private colleges owned by the BRS leaders facing a significant annual tuition fee reduction. However, institutions owned or close to ruling party leaders have been granted fee hikes, indicating a clear favouritism.

According to the recommendations of the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TARFC), which fixes the fee for professional courses offered by the private colleges, the institutions linked to BRS leaders saw fees reduction even on the earlier approved fee structures.

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For instance, Anurag University saw a staggering Rs 35,100 per annum fee cut, while Malla Reddy Engineering College for Women’s fee has been reduced by Rs 22,700 per annum, MLRIT by Rs 19,800 per annum, and Marri Laxman Reddy Institute of Technology and Management by Rs 11,500.

Nalla Malla Reddy Engineering College faced the highest tuition fee reduction of Rs 45,000 per annum, followed by Guru Nanak Institutions by Rs 43,000 per annum.

As per the data, 15 out of 19 private engineering colleges that faced the fee cut belong to the opposition leaders, including Medchal MLA and former minister Ch Malla Reddy, Malkajgiri MLA Marri Rajashekhar Reddy and Jangaon MLA Dr Palla Rajeshwar Reddy.

“It is unfortunate that the college fee has been reduced, without giving any clarity on the criteria followed by such a reduction. Initially, the annual tuition fee has been fixed at Rs 1.65 lakh. After the second hearing, the fee has been brought down to Rs 99,900, which is less than the approved fee of Rs 1.35 lakh for the previous block period. We have been providing quality education, besides securing high placements for our students. We will be approaching the court on the matter,” said S Neelima, Managing Trustee of Gayathri Educational and Cultural Trust that runs Anurag Group.

In contrast, the colleges owned or linked to Congress MLAs and leaders witnessed a fee hike. For example, Brilliant Institute of Engineering and Technology in Rangareddy district owned by Congress MLA from Kalwakurthy, Kasireddy Narayan Reddy, got a fee hike of Rs 9,200 per annum. Similarly, two engineering colleges owned by Congress leader Teegala Krishna Reddy saw a hike fee of Rs 17,900 per annum and Rs 14,500 per annum.

G Narayanamma Institute of Technology and Science has got a highest fee hike of Rs 62,000 per annum. This college fee now stands at Rs 1.62 lakh per annum. Among all engineering colleges, the CBIT, which received a fee hike of Rs 18,000, has the highest tuition fee of Rs 1.83 lakh per annum.

The new engineering college fee structure, as per the sources, has received approval from the Finance department. The government is expected to notify the same in about a week.