HYDERABAD: Dr BR Ambedkar Open University (BRAOU), which churns out over one lakh graduates every year, is now reportedly planning to cut intake at nearly 92 of its study centres in Andhra Pradesh. Thanks to the ongoing controversy over admissions to common institutes of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the university has also cancelled its previous eligibility test for admissions to graduation courses and is all set to conduct a fresh one.
After conducing a common eligibility test for students in both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in April, the university cancelled the entire process and recently issued a fresh notification for an exclusive test for students in Telangana. Qualified candidates will be admitted to its study centers across the Telangana State.
With both States failing to sort out admission controversy in common universities, more than 50,000 students from AP are now unable to get admission in BRAOU. University officials said that since the fate of study centres in AP is unclear, they have decided to conduct admissions only in Telangana.
The university is also reportedly planning to stop maintaining these study centres in AP. Owing to poor funding from both the States, the university authorities are finding it very difficult to pay salaries to nearly 400 employees and Rs 25,000 for monthly maintenance for each centre.
A senior official at the university said, “Unless we receive funds immediately, we will give up on these centres within two months.” Being one of the institutes under Schedule X of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, the BRAOU is supposed to receive funds from both AP and TS on the basis of population ratio. But the university has so far received only around Rs 6 crore from the Telangana government. The AP government is yet to contribute its share of funds to the university.
With nearly Rs 14 crore annual budget and availability of less than half of the required amount, the university has a difficult task on hand. A top official from the university, on condition of anonymity, said, “We have no clarity. We don’t even know the procedure to close these centres. If the governments don’t respond, we will have to shut all study centres in AP.”
AP, however, is citing cash-crunch for not funding the university.