Fee reimbursement delay pushing students into debt

Hyderabad: Themounting delay in the release of fee reimbursement funds by the state government is leaving thousands of students from the SC, ST and OBC communities struggling to continue their education, forcing many to borrow money or take up part-time jobs to clear dues demanded by private colleges. This pathetic situation is promoting calls to redesign the fee reimbursement scheme forthwith.

Take the case of P Prakash Kumar (name changed), a data science student from the Backwards Classes (OBC) community studying at a private degree college in Kukatpally. He was initially asked to pay Rs 20,000 of the Rs 60,000 admission fee, with the remaining Rs 40,000 promised to be adjusted against fee reimbursement. “Just before the examinations, the college informed us that the government had not released the funds and demanded the balance,” he told The Hans India. While 50–60 per cent of students managed to pay, the remaining 30–40 per cent - mostly from the poor families - are under severe pressure to arrange money.

V Srinivas (name changed), an MSc (Electronics) student in Himayatnagar explained that reimbursement funds are released in phases, prioritising SC and ST students first, with OBC students receiving support later. “Colleges ask us to pay upfront and promise refunds once government funds arrive. Seniors who left had to clear the entire fee to obtain certificates for jobs or higher studies,” he said.

The problem is not confined to OBC students. Radhika N (name changed), studying at a private women’s engineering college, secured an 8,000 rank in JEE and was eligible for full reimbursement. Her brother, with a 28,000 rank, joined another private college in Gandipet with an annual fee of Rs 1.90 lakh. “As SC students, our fee is supposed to be fully reimbursed -- 60 per cent by the Centre and 40 per cent by the state.