Telangana private degree colleges protest at Dharna Chowk

Around 400 managements of private degree and PG colleges staged a dharna and held a maha rally, while the TPDMA threatened indefinite closure of colleges over fee reimbursement dues

Hyderabad: The Telangana State Private Degree and PG Colleges Management Association (TPDMA) threatened indefinite closure of colleges and not holding exams if the Congress government fails to respond on the long-pending fee reimbursement dues within the next 10 days.

The warning has come over two months after colleges across the State were forced to shut down temporarily due to the non-payment of these dues.

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On Saturday, around 400 managements of private degree and PG colleges held a dharna and maha rally at Dharna Chowk here on Saturday. According to TPDMA, the government has not paid the fee dues for the last 16 months, leaving managements in a severe financial crisis. The managements lamented that they were unable to pay staff salaries, buildings’ rent and interest on borrowed loans due to non-release of the dues.

Despite Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka assuring that dues would be paid by December 2024, the managements said so far they have not received even five per cent of the total amount.

“If the State government does not respond within the next 10 days, the managements will be forced to take tough decisions, including indefinite closure of colleges and not holding exams, if necessary,” said Dr. B Suryanarayana Reddy, president, TPDMA.