VIJAYAWADA: HRD Minister Adimulapu Suresh has given 10 days to private junior colleges in the State to change their signboards in compliance with rules. The signboards should contain only such basic details as the college name, code, sanction number and the courses being offered.
They should not display coaching for any national level entrance tests like JEE, NEET, etc, he said warning of stringent action against colleges violating the rules of the Board of Intermediate Education. The department of education, he said, will receive complaints from the public against colleges and officials violating rules through ourbieap@gmail.com or on WhatsApp number 9391282578.
Addressing a press conference at the Secretariat on Monday, Suresh said that most of the colleges are ignoring the rules.
" In order to ensure compliance, we will take strict measures against private colleges. There are 2,014 unaided private colleges in the State and 699 of them have changed the signboards. Notices have been served on 1,315 colleges warning them of action if they fail to change signboards in 10 days. Even a colour code has been issued, as per which colleges should display the details in blue letters against white background," he said. Several private colleges are illegally running branches without permission from the education department.
‘Assessing student count in colleges difficult due to illegal branches’
“We are unable to identify the correct number of students studying in a particular college because of illegal branches. The rules permit each college to have a maximum of 800 students in all streams. In contravention of the rules, colleges are admitting hundreds of students and opening illegal branches to accommodate the excess intake. At the time of seeking permission, they claim to have playgrounds and bus facility for students, but it is a known fact that they remain only on paper. There are even colleges without proper labs. They should conform to the State government rules. There will not be any leniency and strict action will be taken against those breaking rules,” the minister made it clear.
The State government has set up a fee regulatory commission to regulate fee in private junior colleges, he said and stressed the need for reforms in residential colleges and hostels for better maintenance.
“After 2013, not a single meeting has been convened by the Intermediate Board and no chairman has been appointed to the board.
Soon, the a chairman will be appointed to make the Board fully functional. Steps will also be taken to fill all teaching and non-teaching vacant posts. As against 6,081 sanctioned teaching posts, 4,132 are vacant and to meet the situation, the services of contract staff and guest lecturers are being utilised. We are going to have a meeting with the fire department on the issue of fire safety in educational institutions,” said Suresh.
No display of jee, neet coaching