AP High Court tells govt. to file counters on petitions over merger of Aided institutions by October 22

The crucial development has taken place in the ongoing controversy over aided educational institutions in Andhra Pradesh. The High Court today issued a key order as part of the hearing on petitions filed by several college associations against the process of merging all the aided educational institutions into the government. The CJ AK Goswami bench heard the case.

The High Court clarified that the government should not put pressure on the aided educational institutions regarding the merger process and could not stop the government assistance (aid) from not giving letters of consent (agreeing to the merger). The court directed the government to file counterclaims against all the petitions by October 22. The High Court has adjourned the next hearing to the 28th of this month.

The High Court had earlier erred in issuing orders to merge aided educational institutions into the government. At the September 24 hearing, the judges ruled that the merger process could not proceed unless the educational institutions themselves, which did not have the proper funding to run the schools and colleges, agreed to persuade them to run the merger on their own.

However, the petitioners once again approached the court saying that the Jagan government, which is optimistic about the verdict, is increasing the pressure on the colleges to push the aided merger process further. The High Court gave a clear order in Monday's hearing on the amalgamation of aided schools controversy. The CJ said that the financial aid could not be stopped under any circumstances. This development is a setback for the Jagan government, which wants to merge the aided education system with the government.