HYDERABAD: Talluri Gopi from Siripuram village in Madhira mandal of Khammam district has secured a seat in Material Science course at NIT, Trichy. However, he is unable to join the course as his provisional B Tech certificate is with IIIT-Nuzvid, AP.
Reason: he has to clear the three-year dues of his fee, amounting to Rs 1.2 lakh (Rs 40,000 per year), to this premier institute. But Gopi, who is from a BPL family, could not do it as he has not received his scholarship under the Fee Reimbursement scheme from Telangana government in the past three years.
At present, Gopi is working as a project associate in IIT Madras on temporary basis. Here too he has to submit his B Tech certificate to get his monthly stipend of Rs 25,000. “Ours is a poor family, we cannot afford such huge amount to clear my course dues at IIIT. My father is an auto driver and my mother is a daily wage earner,” Gopi laments.
Like him, the fate of around 1,200 students, belonging to Telangana, who are still studying as well as those who have completed their engineering from various IIITs of AP after bifurcation, is hanging in balance as their dues to these institutes remain unpaid.
The case of another Talluri Gopi, belonging to Govindapuram in Bonakal mandal of Khammam district, is a different one. He was selected for the Amara Raja Batteries Limited, while still in the final year of his mechanical engineering course, during the campus recruitment drive. Now Gopi has completed his course. But, in order to join the organisation he needs his graduation certificate.
“I can’t get my certificates unless I clear my pending fee to the college. Some of us made representations to various officials of the social welfare and higher education departments. So far, there has been no action from the government,” Gopi told Express.
Similarly, his classmate Saidulu of Mudigonda in Nalgonda district too is spending sleepless nights, even though his name is shortlisted for Probationary Officer (PO) job at a public sector bank as he too has to clear his outstanding fee to his college in order to get the final certificate.
“Some of our classmates are able to get their certificates by borrowing money. However, majority of the students are unable to pay their arrears as they come from poor backgrounds,” another student Jaya Sri said.
As per the agreement reached between Telangana and AP, post-bifurcation, the fee of the students studying in the professional colleges, particularly IIITs, in each state should be paid by the state to which they belong based on their “nativity”.
That means, the fee amount of Telangana students pursuing their courses in IIITs in AP is to be borne by the TS government itself. “Not only the fee reimbursement dues of our students studying at IIITs and other professional colleges in AP, but also the dues of students studying in colleges that are in Telangana itself, have so far not been cleared,” an official of the education department commented.