Hyderabad: Private professional colleges across Telangana will shut down indefinitely from Saturday, September 15, with managements observing Engineer’s Day as ‘Black Day’ in protest against the government’s failure to clear long-pending fee reimbursement dues.
The call was given by the Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI) after its general body meeting on Sunday.
Colleges facing severe financial crisis: FATHI
FATHI said thousands of private colleges were facing a severe financial crisis due to the delay in the release of funds.
Despite repeated representations, the state government had neither given clarity on pending dues nor placed any concrete proposal in its recent meetings with college managements, the association alleged.
FATHI chairman N Ramesh Babu, secretary-general KS Ravi Kumar, organising secretary K Sunil Kumar and treasurer K Krishna Rao demanded immediate release of Rs 1,200 crore already sanctioned in the State budget, before Dussehra, along with clearance of all longstanding dues by December 31.
They further sought a fresh government policy on fee reimbursement for the 2025-26 academic year by the end of this year, covering admissions, reimbursement, and fee fixation in consultation with institutions.
Prolonged delay pushed colleges into turmoil: College mgmts
The management said the prolonged delay had pushed colleges into turmoil, with many faculty and staff serving without salaries for several months.
They warned that the crisis was affecting not just employees and their families but also students whose academic schedules were being disrupted, leaving colleges unable to function effectively.
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