Government releases partial fee arrears, BC Welfare Association demand full payment
Hyderabad: The Telangana government’s release of 1,525 crores in fee arrears through the National BC Welfare Department was appreciated by the BC Welfare Association. However, they demanded the release of remaining Rs 3,000 crores of fee reimbursement dues.
R Krishnaiah, National President of the BC Welfare Association, expressed gratitude to Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for the partial payment. ” The total due is around Rs 4500 crores. The problem will be solved if another 3,000 crores are released,” said Krishnaiah in a meeting organized on Wednesday.
For the past three months, students in Telangana have been protesting for the payment of fee arrears. Krishnaiah stressed, “Is it a burden for a government spending 1.5 lakh crores on city beautification to allocate 3,000 crores for students’ education?”
Further, Krishnaiah highlighted significant arrears also outstanding for SC, ST, and Minority students and urged the government to clear all dues at once.
Association raises concerns over inadequate Scholarship amounts
Students pursuing Engineering, Pharmacy, PG, Degree, and Intermediate courses for the past three years can’t obtain their completion certificates, hindering their ability to pursue higher education or secure employment. Additionally, college owners are struggling to pay staff salaries and rents due to the financial issues.
Krishnaiah highlighted the inadequacy of the current scholarship amount. He added, “If scholarships for college students are only 5,500 rupees per year, how can that be sufficient?”. He pointed out that neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka offer higher amounts like Rs 20,000 and 1 lakh rupees respectively to college students annually. He demanded an increase in the scholarship amount from 5,500 to 20,000 rupees for degree students in the state.
