Though the Andhra Pradesh Government is scheduled to hold engineering admissions from June 12, it is clueless about where to conduct it. Officials of the Telangana Government have “sealed” the counselling centre at Sanketika Bhavan in Masab Tank, the nodal centre for all admissions in united Andhra Pradesh.
Apart from locking the counselling centre, all AP offices related to the admission process in the city have also been sealed. For the last 12 days, officials do not even have a place to sit.
Rooms of the Chairman and Secretary of the AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) have also been taken over by officials of the TSCHE following a High Court ruling that infrastructure in Hyderabad belongs to Telangana.
AP officials now spend their time at the Admissions and Fee Regulations Committee (AFRC) office for the time being.
“The counselling centre with all the required infrastructure like computers, internet connection with leased lines and monitoring facility is under the control of Telangana officials and we don’t even have entry. The counselling process may take a hit,” said an official on condition of anonymity. Though similar centres exist in most AP cities, scores of candidates would want to get their certificates verified in Hyderabad as the software for web allocation of seats can be run effectively from here. Besides, all experienced personnel are stationed here.
“Both governments should sit and settle the issue and not inconvenience students,” the official observed.
After the court ruled that no infrastructure in Telangana can be under the control of APSCHE, officials of the TSCHE officials quickly moved to occupy the offices. They also took control over the bank accounts and other assets.
“They tried to snatch our rights in a high-handed manner, and are now paying the price for it with the court judgement in our favour,” a senior TSCHE official commented.
