Hyderabad: Telangana’s higher education sector seems to be slipping into a deep crisis, with no remedial steps to arrest the closure of numerous institutions over the past decade, raising concerns about access to quality education and sustainability of schemes designed and implemented in the past to democratise education and make it inclusive.

According to sources at the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad (JNTUH), the first major wave of closures began when affiliations of 174 private engineering colleges (out of about 315 institutions) were cancelled for violating the norms set by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). This move, aimed at improving quality, drastically reduced the number of colleges, particularly in rural districts.

Similarly, senior officials at Osmania University (OU) confirmed that many degree colleges, especially in rural areas, have shut down due to poor enrollment. In 2025 alone, 64 degree colleges were closed after they failed to attract even a single student.

Amid this broad crisis, Abid Rasul Khan, former chairman of the State Minorities Commission of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, has raised concerns over the closure of 40 minority engineering colleges. These institutions, with a sanctioned strength of nearly 16,000 seats, have ceased operations primarily due to delays in fee reimbursements and the inability of the respective managements to mobilise additional funds.

Khan recalled that the fee reimbursement scheme, introduced during the tenure of former chief minister late Dr Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, was designed to democratise education and empower poor and backward sections. “The scheme was meant to ensure access to quality higher education. Unfortunately, succeeding governments have failed to uphold its spirit, leading to the collapse of minority institutions,” he said.

Khan amplified that during the erstwhile Bharat Rashtra Samithi regime, he had suggested government intervention to revive these colleges. However, his recommendations were ignored, leaving vast infrastructure and assets to decay. “Each of these colleges has massive buildings, some spread over 1.5 lakh square feet. Today, these structures remain unused and are slowly dilapidating,” Khan lamented.

Currently, minority Muslim students are largely dependent on schools run by the Telangana Minority Welfare Education Society (TGMWES), which provides education only up to the 10+2 level. Beyond this, parents struggle to afford higher education, forcing many students to abandon academic pursuits.

“After completing Intermediate studies, students are compelled to take up low-paying jobs such as Rapido drivers, shop assistants, or factory workers. This defeats the very purpose of the fee reimbursement scheme,” Khan observed.

The former chairman of the State Minorities Commission of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana stressed that the closure of these colleges has created a vacuum in higher education opportunities for minority youth, undermining decades of progress. The lack of access to professional courses like engineering has curtailed aspirations of youth and widened socio-economic disparities.

Khan urged the present government to take immediate steps to revive the institutions, either by restructuring the reimbursement system or providing direct financial support.

He emphasised that education is the most powerful tool for empowerment and warned that neglecting this sector could have long-term consequences. “The assets are already in place. What is needed is political will and financial commitment. Otherwise, we risk losing an entire generation of talented youth to underemployment and economic hardship,” he cautioned.

Interestingly, owners of some of the colleges located around the Outer Ring Road managed to recover losses due to the rising land values, even though their institutions had to be shut down.