Activists warn of crisis as Telangana scholarship row hits students

Hyderabad: Civil society organisations, NGOs, social activists, community leaders and academicians have written to Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy, All India Majlis e Ittehad ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi and Meenakshi Natarajan, urging immediate intervention over a developing crisis linked to post-matric scholarships in Telangana.

In the letter, the signatories flagged “grave concern” over the situation affecting lakhs of poor and marginalised students who depend on the Post-Matric Scholarship under the Fee Reimbursement Scheme to pursue higher education.

They pointed to recent proceedings before the Telangana High Court, stating that administrative and policy lapses by the state government have worsened uncertainty for students belonging to SC, ST, BC, Minority and EBC communities.

According to the letter, on April 2, the High Court passed an interim order allowing private educational institutions to collect tuition fees directly from students. The signatories alleged that the government failed to effectively defend its policy, did not present the potential impact on economically vulnerable students, and did not file a counter-affidavit in time.

They further criticised the issuance of the government order dated April 29 by the Scheduled Castes Development Department, which proposed direct benefit transfer of fee reimbursement amounts into students’ bank accounts. The move, they said, altered the existing reimbursement structure and created fresh anxiety among students, parents and institutions.

The letter also noted that on April 30, the High Court suspended Clause XII of Paragraph 5 of the government order, observing prima facie that it was contrary to its earlier interim order, highlighting what the signatories described as a lack of policy clarity and legal preparedness.

Listing the impact, the signatories said:

• Students from poor families are being forced to arrange large sums for admissions,
• Many face the risk of discontinuing education,
• Colleges are under financial strain due to pending dues,
• Admissions for the current academic year are affected,
• Marginalised communities are losing faith in the system.

Calling it a “defining moment”, the letter urged the Congress leadership to act swiftly and placed key demands, including:

• Challenging the April 2 interim order before a division bench
• Immediate release of pending fee reimbursement and scholarship dues
• Restoration of the earlier system of direct payments to institutions
• Formation of a high-level committee to resolve the issue
• Appointment of senior legal counsel for effective representation

The signatories warned that any delay would deepen the crisis and further jeopardise the future of lakhs of students across Telangana.