Controversies continue to plague higher education in Telangana with the latest addition to the long list being the opposition to the online counselling proposed for degree college admissions citing it as irrational and a decision taken in haste.
The proposal for online admission into degree colleges like engineering and MBA admissions has not gone down well with all sought-after private colleges in the city. Their concern is that the quality they offer cannot be given at Rs.8,000 per annum fee that the Government has fixed. Moreover, the decision was taken without involving the stakeholders like college managements or the students.
Discrimination
“The proposal didn’t distinguish and differentiate those institutes who strive for the quality with highly qualified staff, state-of-the-art infrastructure, value-addition programmes and outside the gamut of fee reimbursement scheme from the colleges which solely run on the fee reimbursement scheme. It also didn’t acknowledge and empathise the daunting task of running a college in an urban area like Hyderabad from a rural college in terms rent, maintenance and high salaries,” said B.P. Padala, representative of private colleges after submitting a memorandum to Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) Chairman T. Papi Reddy.
Also some degree colleges are offering specialized value-addition programmes like coaching for Civil services, CAT, CA, national and International diplomas spending huge amounts.
Students who prefer such colleges are obviously willing to pay more but the online system will not allow such facility is their argument.Daunting task
“When online admission was introduced for engineering and MBA courses, it was introduced in phases and students were well informed. However, for degree colleges it was announced when admission process is on. Moreover, with more than 1,200 degree colleges, 1,000 course combinations and lakhs of students unaware of new system would make it a daunting task to execute,” the representatives said.
These colleges, however, say they are not against the online system itself. Let the Government implement it from next year and meanwhile, introduce differential fee structure through the AFRC like all professional courses - engineering, pharmacy and management.
“We want online admissions but a fair system should be created,” argues a correspondent. They also don’t mind if kept out of the fee reimbursement scheme.
