In Hyderabad, private colleges have been playing a game of “catch me if you can” with government authorities for the past decade. The issue revolves around the withholding of students’ original certificates. Students are left confused about which party is at fault.
This year, Prof Sriram Venkatesh, the Secretary of the Telangana Council of Higher Education (TGCHE), sent a letter to vice-chancellors of state universities. The letter instructed them to tell private colleges not to hold back students’ original certificates due to unpaid tuition fees.
The letter was sent to several universities, including Osmania, Kakatiya, Telangana, Mahatma Gandhi, Satavahana, Palamuru, Telangana Mahila, and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. It emphasized the issue of colleges withholding certificates because they haven’t received fee reimbursements from the government.
A former vice-chancellor mentioned that similar letters have been sent in the past from various educational bodies. However, universities feel powerless in this situation. The problem has been ongoing since the state’s bifurcation, and private colleges continue to resist compliance.
Universities can manage without asking students for dues because government colleges receive salary support from the government. But private colleges need to cover their expenses, including salaries and events, which makes them reluctant to follow the instructions.
Some university officials question why the government doesn’t take direct action against the erring colleges. Despite repeated complaints, neither the University Grants Commission (UGC) nor the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has taken serious action in the past decade.
The rules and guidelines have been communicated since 2018, but no strict measures have been implemented. This inaction sets a precedent for private colleges to ignore the guidelines. The government passes the responsibility to universities, which are already struggling with insufficient funds.
A senior official from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTUH), notes that universities rely on funds from affiliated colleges. The funds from the state government barely cover half of the universities’ expenses, further complicating the issue.
