Uncertainty over varsity admissions in Telugu States
As the 10-year common admissions mandate between the Telugu States concluded on June 2, 2024, uncertainties now cloud the Dr BR Ambedkar Open University and Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University admissions, causing worry among students.
Hyderabad: Bifurcation blues between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (AP) States particularly with regard to common admissions continue even after a decade.
As the 10-year common admissions mandate between the Telugu States concluded on June 2, 2024, uncertainties now cloud the Dr BR Ambedkar Open University and Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University admissions, causing worry among students.
The BRAOU notifies admissions for different undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for Telangana and AP students twice a year with the first notification in the last week of June or the first week of July. Similarly, the Telugu university announces the admission schedule in June. But this time, both universities have not released the notifications even in mid-July, courtesy of the indecision on common admissions.
The Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014, during the bifurcation of erstwhile AP, had mandated the continuation of the common admission process provided under Article 371 D of the Constitution for both successor States — Telangana and AP — for a period of 10 years starting June 2, 2014.
As the common admissions period ended, the Andhra Pradesh government asked both universities to continue admissions for AP students for the academic year 2024-25. “The AP government request for continuation of admissions for AP students will not have legal standing due to the university’s jurisdiction issue,” a senior BRAOU official said.
As per the University Grants Commission (UGC) rules, the university should offer courses within its jurisdiction. This means BRAOU and Telugu University should offer their programmes with study centres in Telangana only. If these universities enrol students with centres in AP, certificates of such students will not be valid.
The universities which are in the 10th schedule of the AP Reorganisation Act wrote to the Principal Secretary to Government (Education) Burra Venkatesham seeking clarity over the matter. The government, according to sources, referred the issue to the Law Department seeking views. “Clarity over the matter can be expected in a couple of days,” said a senior official of Telugu University.
The BRAOU records about 50,000 admissions annually with 60-70 per cent of enrollments coming from Telangana and remaining from the AP State where there are 89 centres of the varsity. Similarly, about 250 students from AP enrol in Telugu University programmes offered in three AP centres – Rajahmundry, Kuchipudi and Srisailam.
Due to the delay in the issuance of admission notifications, prospective students are worried a lot, and so are the universities’ officials who are apprehensive that students may enrol in other universities.
