Fee reimbursement is being made regularly: APSCHE

Vijayawada: Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) chairman Prof K Hemachandra Reddy said the state government had deposited the first and second quarters fee reimbursement amount of Rs 670 crore and Rs 693 crore into the bank accounts of the mothers under the Jagananna Vidya Deevena scheme. He said the state government is giving priority to the fee reimbursement and regularly depositing the fee reimbursement money into the bank accounts of the mothers.

Prof Hemachandra Reddy said the reimbursement was deposited into bank accounts of the mothers of students pursing higher education for the present academic year. The fee reimbursement is deposited in four quarters every year. He said opposition parties are levelling false allegations on the state government on implementation of Vidya Deevena and Vasati Deevena schemes. In a statement here on Saturday, he said the state government so far spent Rs 5,572.55 crore under Jagananna Vidya Deevena since it came to power. Under Vasati Deevena, it spent Rs 2,267 crore.

He said the third phase of Jagananna Vidya Deevena amount would be released in November 2021 and the State government would follow the guidelines issued by the Central government on implementation of fee reimbursement scheme in the State.

The APSCHE chairman said Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy does not feel that the fee reimbursement is an expenditure to the government and considers it an investment on the future generations.

He said the state government is clearing dues pending since 2018-19, during the TDP rule adding that Rs.1880 crore dues related to the year 2018-19 and Rs.2200 crore pending since 2019-20 had been cleared.

Prof Hemachandra Reddy said the state government is sanctioning Rs 20,000 scholarships to the degree and post-graduate students also. It had decided to deposit the fee reimbursement into the mothers' accounts in May 2020 and now would follow the procedures framed by the Central government on reimbursement.

He said many irregularities are taking place in fee reimbursement in the PG courses and detailed inquiry is underway in on the allegations faced by the colleges.

He said the state government is will make reputed private universities to allot 35 per cent seats to the students under the convener quota and the government is contemplating to pay the fee under fee reimbursement scheme.

Special principal secretary to the government Satish Chandra said the college managements are happy with the regular release of fee reimbursement to the students pursing higher education. Representative of the autonomous colleges managements association M Venkata Koteswara Rao said the state government is releasing the fee reimbursement regularly and added that the fee reimbursement made by the state government during the Covid-19 pandemic proved very useful to the colleges.