Concerns over fee reimbursement

Engg Counselling: Ball back to single judge

Prolonged court cases and social agitations have thrown the career of thousands of engineering aspirants into jeopardy. Some of the students, who have become restive over the inordinate delay of counselling process, have taken a leap into the agitation against the division of the state against the advice of their teachers and parents. Some of the rankers in Ananthapuram, Chittor districts, who participated in the rallies have been rounded up by the police but were let off after their parents made a plea with the police.

Meanwhile, the writ petition relating to the failure of the authorities in fixing the date for counselling for admission into Engineering colleges in the state is likely to be now volleyed back to a single judge for hearing. It may be recalled that T Leela Krishna filed a writ petition complaining that the non-announcement of the dates would jeopardise the entire academic year was referred to a division bench after a single judge of the court had pointedly asked the authorities if they desired to declare this year as a zero academic year. The matter was today listed before the bench of Chief Justice Kalyan Jyoti Sen Gupta and Justice KC Bhanu. The bench voiced surprise at the matter being listed before them when the subject was not on their roster and directed it be before the chief justice on the administrative side.

This case was a different one and the main case which has blocked the release of counselling schedule had been the one related to category B (management quota) admissions. A division bench has been looking into the case, which is, according to officials of Higher Education Council, has reached final stage and a direction is expected at any moment.
The delay has cost the State dearly as nearly 20,000 students, mostly the cream, have opted for institutes outside the State. While their classes began before July, the classes in Andhra Pradesh may not even start till September 15.

Several issues like continuation of four-year study after the proposed bifurcation, availability of better faculty, managements’ attitude and above all, continuation of reimbursement facility have been of much debate and many parents have expressed apprehension over it. “We are not sure if the reimbursement facility would continue after the division.

If it is scrapped, we will be miserable and I do not know how to borrow such a huge amount to continue the course,” Veerabhadra Rao Hamandu, father of a student and a Class-IV employee in BRK Bhavan, Hyderabad, said. “What are the safeguards over education issue? That should be cleared first”, DK Narsinga Rao, a medical representative of Kurnool demanded. “If we join in an institute like Gokaraju Gangaraju solely on the basis of better faculty and the management shifts some of the faculty belonging to Seemandhra region to some other institute there, what would be our position?” asked Veera Reddy, Vamsi Krishna, two rankers from Nellore district asked.