Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Private colleges offering engineering and other professional courses in Telangana are once again on the brink of a statewide shutdown, citing the government's failure to release pending fee reimbursements. The Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Education Institutions (FATHI) has announced that colleges will remain closed starting November 3 if the outstanding dues are not cleared by November 1.

Representatives from private college managements are set to meet Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka, officials and Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao to hand over strike notices. This move follows repeated assurances from the government that have not been honored, leading to growing frustration among educational institutions.

The core demand revolves around the fee reimbursement arrears, which total around Rs. 10,000 crore across all colleges. Specifically, for the 2023 academic year, Rs. 2,500 crore was due, out of which a token amount of Rs. 1,200 crore was approved. However, only Rs. 376 crore has been released so far, leaving a balance of Rs. 824 crore. The government had previously committed to disbursing Rs. 600 crore in September and the remaining Rs. 600 crore by Diwali, but these promises remain unfulfilled.

This is not the first instance of such action. In September, colleges observed a two-day bandh after announcing a strike from September 15, demanding the release of the Rs. 1,200 crore token. The shutdown was called off following negotiations where the government assured phased payments. With no further progress, managements are now escalating their efforts.

FATHI plans a series of meetings: on October 24 with prominent college owners, October 25 with student unions, and October 26 for a general body meeting to finalize decisions. Post this, they intend to seek support from public organizations and political parties by directly approaching key leaders until November 1. College managements emphasize that the delay in reimbursements is severely impacting operations, including staff salaries and infrastructure maintenance, ultimately affecting thousands of students. They urge the government to act swiftly to avoid disrupting academic activities and ensure the welfare of the education sector.