HYDERABAD: The state government on Thursday authorised the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulation Committee (TAFRC) to fix fees for private unaided professional colleges. The committee has also introduced new parameters, including scrutiny of colleges’ fee structures, rankings, quality of education and internal quality assurance systems.
The amendment follows the constitution of a 10-member expert committee headed by TGCHE chairman Prof V Balakista Reddy. The committee was tasked with revising parameters for fee fixation after the state’s fee regulatory body flagged that the current proposals for the 2025–28 block period deviated from legal guidelines. The committee was asked to submit a detailed report within six weeks.
To ensure accuracy and depth, four subcommittees — Legal and Best Practices, Infrastructure, Academic, and Accounts & Audit — were formed. After review, a comprehensive report was submitted to the government, paving the way for fee fixation from the next academic year.
Prof Balakista said the earlier model was focused mainly on income and expenditure, but the revised framework includes factors such as college ranking, placements and academic performance. “We have discussed with subcommittees, analysed the details and submitted our report. Based on this, the government issued GO MS No. 33,” he said.
A senior official said the TAFRC will call for proposed fee structures from each institution in advance, along with supporting documents and accounts. College managements will also have to submit a notarised affidavit affirming the accuracy of the data provided. Any distortion of facts will invite penal action.
The TAFRC will be free to approve or modify proposed fees, giving weightage to factors such as quality of education, student progression (attendance, academic performance, placements), adoption of best practices (facial-recognition attendance, Aadhaar-authenticated payments), promotion of research and innovation, start-ups, publications, awards, national and international rankings, and alignment with the state’s perspective plan for technical education.