State agrees to pay full fee for the poor

The Andhra Pradesh government plans to crackdown on private engineering colleges, after feeling the pinch of the ambitious fee reimbursement scheme draining its exchequer to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore annually.

However, fearing an adverse political fallout, the Kiran Kumar Reddy government seems to be going back on its plan to water down the scheme. Instead, it plans to crack the whip, after its task force inspects all 687 private engineering colleges to determine if they have facilities like infrastructure and qualified faculty. Also, private colleges would now have to strictly follow government guidelines in the admission process, without collecting donations or any other charges. Any college failing to meet set norms, will have to face action as per the law, Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy  told reporters here this evening. He said that there would not be any vendetta against any college management. The fee reimbursement scheme has become a bone of contention in the wake of a high court judgment, favouring a unified fee structure of Rs 35,000 per student, to be fully implemented in 602 private colleges, while in the remaining 85 colleges which fixed their own fees ranging from Rs 52,000 to Rs 1.05 lakh, it would be based on fulfilling certain criteria. Those students who secured a rank of below 10,000 in the engineering, agriculture and medical common entrance test will get full reimbursement along with students from SC and ST communities. Students who passed out of government colleges in intermediate too will get full reimbursement as per the court's direction. We will review the fee structure depending on the final outcome in the Supreme Court, he said. The government would have to bear an additional Rs 100 crore on account of increased fees in 85 colleges.

PTI