Former Minister Harish Rao expressed concern that due to the government’s incompetence for not conducting the degree exams the future of over six lakh students in Telangana remained uncertain. The exams scheduled for April in the state’s Kakatiya, Satavahana, Telangana, Mahatma Gandhi and Palamuru universities were not held due to the non-payment of fee reimbursement dues of nearly Rs. 800 crore to degree colleges.
They pay thousands of crores of bills to big contractors but do not pay the students’ fee reimbursement?, he asked. He said that the Congress, which had announced in its manifesto that it would continue the fee reimbursement scheme in a better way, has now made that scheme disappear.
He deplored that the words spoken in the Assembly by CM Revanth Reddy, who is the Education Minister, that the pending dues would be paid immediately have become empty words. He said that the assurance given by Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka to the college management that the entire dues would be paid within two months has become a bag of water.
Harish Rao lamented that the plight of students begging the government to conduct the exams is a testament to the government’s failure to govern. He said that third-year students are losing their eligibility to write PGSET, LASET and other competitive exams due to not conducting the exams on time. He accused the government of playing dumb even though private college managements are protesting against not conducting the degree exams.
He said that the managements are mired in debt due to the government not providing fee reimbursement, and that the college managements are paying salaries to teaching and non-teaching staff by taking loans. He said that this year’s degree admissions have been stopped due to increasing rents and debts, and that in some places, colleges have been closed and holidays have already been declared.
The former finance minister said that it is shameful that the CM and ministers are acting as if nothing has happened to them while all this is happening. He reminded that KCR has implemented the scheme started by the late CM YS Rajasekhar Reddy, keeping in mind the future and welfare of the students without any changes and has shown great heart.
He said that even during the economic crisis like Covid, the fee reimbursement arrears have never stopped. He said that an average of Rs 2,000 crores every year, a total of Rs. 19,000 crores of fee reimbursement funds were released during the nine and a half years of BRS rule. But, he alleged the Congress government did not release even 17 paise under fee reimbursement in 17 months. He said that it is clear that education is a lie among the priorities of this government.