Colleges end strike after Bhatti’s assurance on ₹600 crore release
HYDERABAD: The Federation of Aided and Technical Higher Institutions (FATHI) on Friday night called off its week-long strike following an assurance from Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka that ₹600 crore in fee reimbursement arrears would be released within three days, with the balance cleared in phases.
The decision came after a meeting at Praja Bhavan attended by Bhatti and minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy. Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy had earlier cautioned college managements against continuing protests during examinations, warning of stern action if disruptions persisted.
Bhatti said ₹2,600 crore had already been released, another ₹600 crore would be disbursed immediately, and the remaining ₹300 crore cleared in the next phase. He added that a committee comprising officials and representatives of college managements would be formed to review reforms in the fee reimbursement process and submit recommendations.
FATHI president Nimmaturi Ramesh clarified that the federation had not made disparaging remarks against higher education secretary Devasena or other officials. “Some statements were misrepresented. We have issued clarifications to the concerned officials,” he said. The strike, which began on November 3, had disrupted examinations.
FATHI general secretary Ravikumar said Saturday’s planned lecturers’ demonstration had been cancelled and that all colleges would reopen on Saturday.
CM warns colleges against ‘blackmail’
Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, addressing a press conference, said the government would not tolerate “blackmail tactics” by private colleges that cause hardship to students. He alleged that some managements were using arrears as a pretext to pressure the government after their requests for new colleges or off-campus approvals were rejected.
Revanth Reddy stated that education was a service, not a business, and accused several institutions of exploiting students through high fees and donations. He said the government would tighten regulations to curb donations during engineering admissions.
Refuting claims by private colleges that the state owed between ₹9,000 crore and ₹12,000 crore, he clarified that the pending dues stood at ₹3,600 crore, accumulated over two years since the Congress government took office.
High Court seeks decision on FATHI’s meeting plea
In a separate development, the Telangana High Court directed the Hyderabad and Rachakonda police commissioners to decide within a week on FATHI’s request for permission to conduct a meeting either at Lal Bahadur Stadium or Aurora College, Parvathapur.
The direction came on a lunch motion filed by FATHI secretary K. Sunil Kumar. Justice Kumar observed that institutions needed an avenue to voice their grievances and asked what objection could exist to granting permission for a meeting on long-pending issues.
Earlier, Union minister of state for home Bandi Sanjay Kumar had criticised the state government, alleging that it misled college managements over fee reimbursement dues, straining institutions and affecting teaching schedules.
