The ‘interim measure’ of the Telangana High Court permitting private colleges to collect tuition fees directly from students covered under the State’s Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF) scheme has triggered concern among students and parents, particularly those from economically weaker backgrounds, for whom the scheme was a ‘lifeline to education’.
For years, the State government maintained that students belonging to SC, ST, Backward Classes, and minority communities should not be asked to pay tuition fees upfront, and that colleges must wait for reimbursement. However, that original position has now changed, thanks to the inordinate delay in release of dues by the government.
Several stakeholders have termed the judgement a historic move, especially the Federation of Association of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI), which has been bringing pressure on government in view of the dire situation of private colleges and the livelihood of over a lakh employees in the sector.
However, it has been faulted by student unions, Opposition party leaders and education advocates.
“The fee reimbursement scheme in Telangana, which enabled crores of underprivileged students to pursue higher education, appears to have been officially scrapped, likely forcing many poor students to return to herding buffaloes and sheep after Intermediate,” posted BRS leader and former secretary of Social Welfare Gurukuls R.S. Praveen Kumar on social media.
