Release pending fee dues-SFI and ABVP to state government

Hyderabad: The Students Federation of India (SFI) and Akhil Bharat Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) demanded the State government immediately release the pending fee reimbursement dues and scholarships.

On Monday, the student bodies lashed at the State government for neglecting the woes of the students and the education sector.

The SFI State Committee said that there is a due of Rs 8,000 crore pending fee reimbursement and scholarships since last year.

Due to the non-release of these fees, those who have already qualified in different entrance examinations and are taking admissions to higher studies are facing serious difficulties.

The State SFI president and secretary RL Murthy and T Nagaraju said that poor students are forced to take loans and collect their certificates from the colleges. "On the one hand, the students are facing difficulties, on the other hand, the management is running on debt and they are not able to pay the salaries." The duo said that there are more private colleges for degree and postgraduate programmes than in the government sector. Most of the poor are taking admissions belonging to SC, ST, BC and minority students who are at the receiving end due to the pending dues. They demanded the government immediately release the pending dues, failing, they warned to launch a statewide agitation.

Terming the pending fee reimbursement and scholarships taking a toll on the careers and futures of the poor students, ABVP State secretary Chintakayala Jhansi demanded the government immediately release the pending fee reimbursement and scholarships. She said, "It is more than Rs 7,500 core that the State government has to release towards the pending fee reimbursement and scholarships." Though several representations were submitted and protests were organised there was no response from the government, she said. The new Congress government is neglecting to pay the pending dues that have been going on for a year. She questioned if the government is conspiring to deprive the poor students of education by not releasing the reimbursement scholarships. It is a shame that due to the non-payment from the government, colleges have been mounting pressure on students to pay and collect their certificates as they have to pay salaries to the staff. The private owners are complaining that they are not in a position to run the college unless we pay the reimbursement dues. There are hundreds of colleges running on fee reimbursement. The negligence on the part of the government left students suffering between the government and the colleges.

Though governments are changing the education system is not changing and students' lives are not improving. It is the government that needs to strengthen the education system of the existing schools. Instead, it talks about new international schools and universities, she criticised. If the government fails to release pending dues, the ABVP will take up a large-scale movement involving all the students across the state, she warned.