College JAC dangles exam boycott threat

Hyderabad: The KG-to-PG Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising private college managements decided to boycott the ensuing intermediate, degree and post-graduate common examinations. The committee demanded a four-fold increase in the fee structure for intermediate and degree courses and thus, decided to boycott the examinations. Addressing media here on Friday, the JAC demanded that the State government hold discussions on the questions raised and issue necessary order within 10 days.

“If the State government fails to resolve the nine-point charger of demands placed before it, then, we will boycott the examinations,” the JAC executive members said. The committee demanded a fee hike for intermediate course of science be made Rs 25,000 and arts Rs 15,000, while for degree science Rs 30,000, commerce Rs 25,000 and arts Rs 20,000 and for post-graduate courses science and computers Rs 50,000 and arts and commerce Rs 30,000. In a letter to the Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari, the JAC claimed that several unemployed graduates have established schools and colleges in the last 35 years in the State. Nearly 50 per cent of the schools, 80 per cent of the degree colleges and 90 per cent of the PG colleges were providing education to the poor and middle-class sections of the society, they said.

However, due to the new regulations, the colleges have been pushed into financial problems and their existence remains bleak. The JAC blamed delay in the release of fees under the fee reimbursement scheme, discrimination towards private colleges and excessive government interference in their functioning were the reasons for the current situation. “While government had been targeting the private colleges, it had been throwing red carpet to the corporate, international colleges at the same time,” they said. Further, the government machinery had been engaged in projecting the private colleges as if they are looters with a smear campaign, they added.

Explaining their decision to boycott the examinations, the JAC members said the government had been assuring to call us and discuss all the issues for the last one year. However, nothing has happened so far, which forced us to decide to boycott the examinations.

The nine demands of the JAC include common fee structure for degree and post-graduation, renewal of affiliation once in five years for junior colleges which completed 10 years and degree colleges which completed five years. Also, facility to withdraw corpus fund and FDRs to junior, degree and post-graduate colleges which completed 10-years.

Proper administration of DOST and permission for the colleges to fill the unfilled seats by the college managements, relaxation for all the schools and colleges from the property tax, concessions in the power supply and lifting of toll tax, exemption to all the educational institutions from the fire safety certificate and provide two acres land to all the educational institutions at government rates.