Private educational institutions in Telangana are grappling with confusion over the actual scale of fee reimbursement tokens issued by the government, as revelations indicate a staggering Rs 3,543 crore in pending tokens from 2019-20 to 2024-25, far exceeding the Rs 1,200 crore recently promised for release.

A year-wise breakup of these tokens, generated and pending in the treasury as on September 15, reveals the mounting backlog: Rs 27 crore for 2019-20, Rs 151 crore for 2020-21, Rs 762 crore for 2021-22, Rs 1,432 crore for 2022-23, Rs 1,147 crore for 2023-24, and Rs 24 crore for 2024-25 so far. This total encompasses scholarships for Post-Matric government hostels, SC/ST/Minority residential schools and junior colleges, residential degree colleges, and fee reimbursements for private institutions offering Intermediate, Degree, PG, and professional courses.

The logjam between private colleges—from Intermediate to Graduate, PG, and professional streams including Engineering, B.Ed/D.Ed, Nursing, 

Pharmacy, MBA/MCA, Law, and Polytechnics—and the Telangana government appeared resolved temporarily on Monday, with the administration agreeing to disburse Rs 600 crore within a week and another Rs 600 crore before Diwali, totaling Rs 1,200 crore. This assurance came during a high-level meeting convened by Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, IT Minister D Sridhar Babu, and Education Department officials with representatives of the Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Education Institutions (FATHI). In response, the private colleges, representing around 2,000 institutions, called off their indefinite closure that began on September 15—coinciding with Engineer's Day, declared a "Black Day"—and resumed operations from Tuesday.

However, college managements were stunned to learn that tokens issued since the BRS regime total Rs 3,543 crore, while the state owes a whopping Rs 8,000 crore in overall dues. 

Last year alone, tokens for Rs 1,207 crore were issued but never released. During the meeting, institutions pressed for Rs 700 crore immediately—Rs 500 crore for professional colleges and Rs 200 crore for degree colleges—highlighting severe financial distress. "We are hard-pressed financially; it's difficult to run colleges as we pay salaries to faculty, non-teaching staff, handle maintenance, and rental costs," said a FATHI member, echoing broader concerns.

The crisis has left thousands of staff unable to meet basic needs, with Dussehra looming. "Many staff are unable to meet basic needs... Education, faculty livelihoods, and the future of hundreds of thousands of students are at stake," rue the members.

While the partial release offers relief, managements urge the government to clear all dues by October 31, issue a new reimbursement order by December 31, and settle 2025-26 payments before March 2026, to avert future disruptions.