Hyderabad: Faced with a severe fund crunch, private colleges in Telangana began an indefinite strike on Monday, September 15, over delays in fee reimbursement.
The strike was called by the Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI) following its general body meeting on Sunday.
In a statement, FATHI said thousands of private colleges are grappling with a financial crisis due to delays in the release of funds. The association alleged that despite repeated representations, the state government has neither clarified pending dues nor provided any concrete proposals in recent meetings with college managements.
FATHI chairman N Ramesh Babu, secretary-general KS Ravi Kumar, organising secretary K Sunil Kumar, and treasurer K Krishna Rao demanded the immediate release of Rs 1,200 crore already sanctioned in the state budget before Dussehra, along with the clearance of all longstanding dues by December 31.
They 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.
Opposition parties react
As the strike took effect on Monday, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticised the Telangana government for failing to fulfil the fee reimbursement demand.
Reacting to the strike, BRS MLA and former Telangana finance minister T Harish Rao accused the Congress government of neglecting the issue.
He criticised the government, stating that it was shameful for the Revanth administration to remain silent even though private educational institutions had been demanding the release of fee reimbursement funds for the past two years. “Due to the negligence of the Congress government, degree, PG, pharmacy, B.Ed., MBA, MCA, and engineering institutions across the state are on the verge of closure.
The Siddipet MLA further claimed that nearly 13 lakh students have become uncertain.
“If even semester exams are being postponed, what exactly is the chief minister, who also holds the education portfolio, doing? Why is he silent despite private educational institutions announcing protests, hunger strikes, and indefinite bandhs from Monday?” he asked.
He then criticised Telangana deputy chief minister, Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, for reportedly saying that the state government treasury is empty. “How is it that money is unavailable for paying salaries and clearing fee reimbursements, yet funds are being channelled into the Chief Minister’s pet projects?” Rao asked.
Taking a dig at CM Revanth Reddy, the BRS MLA asked how the government is paying dearness allowance to government employees when there is no money.
He alleged that Revanth Reddy was pushing tenders worth Rs 2.5 lakh crore only to collect commissions. “Don’t you care about students’ education? Don’t you think about the hardships faced by educational institutions? When I confronted the government in the Assembly about fee reimbursement, the government shamelessly broke its promise.”
It had assured that arrears would be released in instalments and cleared within the year. During the BRS government, fee reimbursement never stopped, not even during economic crises like demonetisation and the COVID-19 pandemic. In the nine and a half years of former CM KCR’s rule, Rs 20,000 crore was paid for fee reimbursement,” he said.
He claimed that after the Congress came to power, the situation worsened. With arrears piling up, educational institutions are unable to function.
Rao further said that already, half the junior and degree colleges in the state have been closed. Electricity and water connections are being cut due to non-payment of bills, and management is in distress as they cannot pay salaries to employees.
Reacting to the issue, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar said that Congress claimed to be the brand ambassador of fee reimbursement; however, it has now become a brand ambassador of betrayal.
Kumar further said that in Telangana, over 15 lakh students face an uncertain future as both BRS and Congress are blamed for neglecting fee reimbursement. For the last 20 months, not a single rupee has been paid, only empty tokens issued.
“Colleges are shutting down, and students are being forced out. While the Congress government allocates thousands of crores for Musi beautification, Fourth City and even Miss World shows, it has failed to release Rs 8,000 crore needed for poor students’ education,” the former Telangana BJP president said.
ABVP protest
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists from Golconda also staged a protest in Hyderabad, demanding fee reimbursement for colleges in Telangana. The protest was held at Basheerbagh, where several students gathered.
They demanded that the Telangana government immediately release the pending. In a statement. ABVP Golconda district convene, Vikramaditya said, “Fees reimbursement and scholarship dues in Telangana state are in thousands of crores.”
He added that the government is neglecting the problems of students. He further said that due to the non-release of student fees, colleges are facing difficulties; this is shameful.
“Even after two years of the government coming to power, the fact that an education minister has not been appointed is proof of negligence towards students,” the convener added.
The ABVP demanded that an education minister be appointed in the Telangana cabinet immediately.
“Otherwise, we will hold large-scale agitations across the state under the auspices of ABVP and bring down the government,” he concluded.
Follow on Twitter | Posted by Mohammed Baleegh | 
