Krishnaiah highlights ‘extortion’ by Intermediate colleges, seeks law for fee regulation  

R. Krishnaiah | Photo Credit: NAGARAGOPAL

Alleging that the ‘corporate college mafia’ and private colleges are on the path of extortion in Telangana, Rajya Sabha member and president of National BC Welfare Association R. Krishnaiah demanded that the State government enact a legislation on fee regulation.

Comparing the situation in other States, he said the Gujarat government prescribes only online fee payment, and its fee regulation is in implementation since 2017. In Rajasthan, the government formed three committees to decide fee structure for private colleges. The neighbouring Andhra Pradesh too is implementing fee regulation effectively by deciding on a structure for every three years, he added.

“Private colleges are increasing fees every year, and as per this year’s trend colleges are charging ₹ 3 lakh for Intermediate first year and ₹ 3.5 lakh for second year students,” he said. For additional coaching offered for NEET and JEE, hefty fees are being collected. This is already in vogue through agents of colleges with the government releasing the SSC results and the notification for college admission process, he added.

Writing a five-page letter to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, highlighting the state of unregulated and arbitrary fees being collected by private colleges in the State, he alleged that the Board of Intermediate too was least concerned about the issue.

Citing a few instances, he noted that colleges, based on location and popularity, were charging different fees at different branches. And parents enquiring about admission fee are not allowed to carry mobile phones and the estimated fee is just scribbled on a paper. Mr. Krishnaiah pointed out that only about 3.29 lakh students out of the over 9 lakh Intermediate students go to gurukulas and government colleges, and the rest get admissions in private colleges.

He demanded that the Revanth Reddy government enact a law on fee regulation and implement it effectively, to cap the per annum fee at ₹ 1 lakh, and to categorise hostels into four based on available infrastructure, academic faculty, and fee structure.