- Private colleges demand release of pending fee reimbursement dues
- Managements warn of ‘Chalo Hyderabad’ protest if issue remains unresolved
Private college managements across Telangana have announced an indefinite bandh starting Monday, protesting against the state government’s delay in clearing pending fee reimbursement dues. The decision came after the deadline for the reimbursement arrears ended on Sunday with no official response from the government.
According to college associations, the government owes around Rs 9,000 crore in pending dues for the 2024–25 academic year. The delay has caused financial strain on numerous institutions, affecting the payment of staff salaries and day-to-day operations. Though the government had earlier announced that Rs 1,200 crore would be released before Dussehra, officials disbursed only Rs 300 crore. There has been no clarity regarding the remaining Rs 900 crore, leading to increasing frustration among college administrators.
The managements stated that repeated appeals and negotiations with the government yielded no results. As a result, they decided to shut down all private educational institutions across the state from Monday. “We have been waiting patiently, but the government continues to ignore our demands. The arrears must be released immediately,” said a representative of the private college association.
They further warned that if the pending amount is not cleared soon, they would intensify their agitation by organizing a massive statewide protest under the slogan ‘Chalo Hyderabad’. The bandh is expected to affect thousands of students enrolled in private intermediate, degree, and professional colleges.
Meanwhile, the education department has not issued any official statement responding to the bandh announcement. Students and parents have expressed concern over the extended shutdown’s possible impact on ongoing academic activities, including semester exams and project work. With no resolution in sight, the stalemate between the private college managements and the Telangana government appears to be deepening.
