Only genuine colleges will receive fee reimbursement, Telangana CM tells Assembly

Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy has said that fee reimbursement dues will be cleared in a phased manner for colleges found to be genuine, while institutions flagged for irregularities will face scrutiny. Replying to allegations raised by the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in the Assembly, he said ₹200 crore would be released every month from this year to meet the ₹2,500 crore required for the scheme.

The Chief Minister said the money would be deposited directly into students' accounts, citing large-scale irregularities detected in the accounts of colleges. He added that he wanted to make use of the Central government's reimbursement support — 75% for Scheduled Tribe students and 40% for Scheduled Caste students — which comes with conditions requiring direct transfer to students. Fee reimbursement, he stressed, is intended for the benefit of students and not for college managements.

Mr. Reddy alleged that the previous BRS government, led by K. Chandrasekhar Rao, had used vigilance inquiries against colleges to encourage defections, while selectively raising fees for institutions favoured by the then regime. He said the status of vigilance reports ordered during that period remained unclear, and alleged that colleges close to Mr. Chandrasekhar Rao received favourable treatment while others were denied fee revisions.

Questioning why college managements had stayed silent for nearly a decade as dues accumulated, he said they had not spoken out for even a day or held a single protest during those ten years. He also alleged that a university linked to a close aide of the former Chief Minister held more than ₹400 crore in its bank account, asking where the money had come from and whether education had become a business.