Ambedkar University seeks ₹600 crore dues from Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh : Dr B R Ambedkar Open University Vice-Chancellor Prof Ghanta Chakrapani said the Andhra Pradesh government owed the university ₹600 crore in dues.
He said the university had completely stopped providing services in Andhra Pradesh after December 2024, following the expiry of the 10-year period under the bifurcation law. However, he said he was surprised that the Andhra Pradesh government had issued a government order stating that the Hyderabad-based Ambedkar Open University had been shifted to Eluru.
“There is no branch of the university in Eluru,” Chakrapani said.
Chakrapani was speaking to the media at Haritha Plaza in Begumpet, Hyderabad, on Wednesday while announcing details of the university’s convocation scheduled for October 7.
He said the bifurcation law required Telangana and Andhra Pradesh to establish their own universities within a year. Since Andhra Pradesh had not established its own university, the Ambedkar Open University had stopped its services there at the time, he said.
University says Andhra Pradesh has no operations now
Chakrapani said students had approached the court in 2015, following which the court directed the two states to share the students’ expenses. Telangana’s share was fixed at 42% and Andhra Pradesh’s at 58%.
He said the university had continued providing services for 10 years because Andhra Pradesh had said it would bear its 58% share. However, the state had not paid the university ₹600 crore so far, he said.
The university currently has no operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chakrapani said.
He said the university was “shocked” after recently coming across a circular and a government order stating that the Hyderabad-based Ambedkar Open University had been shifted to Eluru.
He said the university had written to the Telangana government objecting to the inclusion of Telangana students and Telangana minister Danasari Anasuya Seethakka as alumni of the university in the document.
The university has 24 regular and 18 contract employees, he said. It had also asked the government to fill another 20 posts, he added.
Convocation to honour B Narsing Rao with doctorate
The university will hold its convocation on October 7, Chakrapani said. It will be the university’s 45th anniversary and 27th convocation.
Telangana Governor and university Chancellor Shiv Pratap Shukla will attend as the chief guest. Former National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) director and former university vice-chancellor Prof V S Prasad will deliver the convocation address.
Filmmaker and actor B. Narsing Rao will be conferred an honorary doctorate, Chakrapani said.
A total of 36,145 candidates from undergraduate, postgraduate and diploma courses will receive degrees at the convocation. They include 19,800 women, 43 Army personnel, 11 transgender persons and 27 prisoners.
The university will also award PhD degrees to 23 candidates and present 38 gold medals.
Chakrapani said the university had received digital university status from this year, allowing it to offer courses not only to students in Telangana but also to learners from anywhere in the world.
In the first phase, approval has been received for MBA, MCom, BCom and MP (Telugu) courses. Applications will open from October 15, he said.
The university will launch BA courses in the future, Chakrapani added.
