The State Government will clear all the dues of fee reimbursement for the academic year 2016-17 in the coming days, asserted Finance Minister Eatala Rajender.
The Government had released ₹2,896 crore out of ₹3,200 crore due and the remaining would be released in the next month or so. An estimated ₹400 crore would be set aside for the current academic year, he said in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Replying to a heated debate on the short discussion on fee reimbursement scheme, the Minister said the Government would not be able to clear the current year’s account immediately as there were different admission schedules for different courses. The details of all the eligible students had not been uploaded so far and a final picture on the quantum of fee reimbursement could be arrived at only after scrutinising these details.
Admission process
“Admissions for intermediate courses will be complete by July and admission for degree courses by August. Admission into professional and other courses continue till the year-end and a final picture will come towards end of January,” he said. Given the variations in the admission schedules, the Government was making payments for dues of the previous academic years.
Dues relating to fee reimbursement was not a new phenomenon and it was a legacy of the previous Congress government of the erstwhile united State, he said quoting the dues during the Congress regime that kept increasing over the years till the TRS took over the reins. The TRS Government had hiked the mess and maintenance charges significantly over the past couple of years benefiting students, he said.
The Congress, BJP and TDP members criticised the Government for its negligent attitude in ensuring timely payment of dues resulting in hardships to students. There were several incidents of college managements holding back certificates of qualified students citing pending fee reimbursement dues.
The Minister strongly refuted the charge and said the Government was prepared to initiate action in such cases if the Opposition members provided details. The Government had taken on board the managements of private educational institutions with regard to payment of fee reimbursement dues, he observed.
