Private colleges drop boycott threat

Hyderabad: The Private College Managements Joint Action Committee (JAC) here on Monday said the managements would cooperate with the State government in the smooth conduct of SSC, Intermediate and Degree examinations.

Addressing the media after meeting Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari here, the JAC chairman Sundar Raj and members Prakash and Srinivas said they had decided to cooperate with the government keeping in view the future of the students.

Earlier, the JAC leaders told the Minister that the total amount being paid to non-professional colleges under fee reimbursement scheme is just Rs 400 crores. So, the JAC leaders urged the Minister to make a separate allocation for the non-professional colleges.

The JAC leaders also appealed to the Minister to fix a uniform fee structure for the non-professional courses in all universities. Degree course admissions are made through Degree Online Services, Telangana (DOST). However, each university has different fee structure, they pointed out. They wanted fee hike at the rate of 10 a year.

Responding to the same, Srihari assured them that he would convene a meeting with the JAC and officials of the Education Department after 15 days to discuss and sort out all the issues. The Telangana Private College Managements’ Association core committee member K Siddheswar pointed to the problems in the Intermediate admissions.

He said the Minister also agreed to a 50 per cent hike in the tuition fee. The Telangana Recognised School Management's Association president Srinivas Reddy urged the government to implement a one-time renewal of recognition to the schools having permanent buildings as against annual renewal. Besides, they appealed to the government to specify in its GO as to what the managements should do in case of parents failed to pay the fee.

The Planning, Coordination and Monitoring Board for Minorities (PCMB) has met the Deputy Chief Minister and handed over a list of Minority educational institutions ready to hold examinations. Appreciating the stand taken by the private and minority institutions, Srihari said the government was willing to address and resolve all the issues. But, it would not be fair to boycott the examinations which would adversely affect the prospects of students.

Special Chief Secretary of Education Rajeev R Acharya, School Education Director Kishan and others were present at the meeting. The KG-to-PG College Managements’ Association also announced its decision to withdraw its earlier decision to boycott the examinations. The JAC members took the decision after a late night meeting held at the official residence of Deputy Chief Minister Kadiyam Srihari.

During the meeting, Srihari assured the agitating private college managements that the government would allow 50 per cent fee hike in Intermediate courses. He also said the government would reimburse the fee for degree students under fee reimbursement scheme basing on DOST norms.