Delay in fee reimbursement by state govt driving status change

Hyderabad: The government’s failure in releasing fee reimbursement dues on time is one of the primary reasons for top engineering colleges vying for deemed and private university status. According to sources, the government is yet to release approximately Rs 900 crore to various engineering colleges for the last two years. Owing to delay, many engineering colleges are running in debt as they sought personal loans from the market to bear teacher salaries among other expenses.
Now with government clearing decks for establishment of private universities, many engineering colleges are tempted to upgrade themselves.
“Once colleges upgrade themselves as a university, they will have immense freedom in terms in conducting their own admissions, fixing of fee structure, giving out degree etc. Since the GO reserves only 25% seats for local students with no social reservations, it’s another advantage for private colleges,” said KVK Rao, general secretary of All India Federation of Self Financing Technical Institutions.
The government will not reimburse fee for students enrolled in private universities, thereby cutting down on funds allotted under fee reimbursement scheme, say experts.