VIJAYAWADA: Taking exception to the criticism being levelled against the government by the Opposition, Minister for Education Audimulapu Suresh said, unlike the previous TDP government, the YSRC government is not treating education as a commercial entity but as a noble mission.
The government, he said, is striving to provide opportunities in education to all sections of society, irrespective of their financial background. “Cabinet has approved 35 per cent reservation in private colleges for those from poor families, who qualified for the course. An ordinance to this effect was also issued,” he said.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Suresh said the state government will also pay full fee reimbursement to the students in private colleges. High Court had recently stayed depositing fee reimbursement in the mothers’ accounts. The government is planning to file a review petition, challenging the same.
The government, he said, believes that crediting fee reimbursement to the mother’s account is a good thing. Apart from the benevolence of private engineering colleges, parents should know whether the college building, equipment and infrastructure are in order in colleges. As per the information available with the government, 89% of those who had received fee reimbursement paid their fees to the colleges.
“In the past, the NRI quota seats in private universities gave an impression that education is a commodity available in the market, where there is no place for merit. From this year, 70 per cent of seats will be filled through AP EAPCET and 15 per cent will be filled under the NRI quota and the remaining 15 per cent of seats (local and non-local) by following the rule of reservation,” the minister said.
Andhra Pradesh Higher Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission Chairman Justice V Eswaraiah said that there was no control over the fees of the private universities in the past. The government has brought in an ordinance to provide 35% seats in corporate colleges to the poor and meritorious students.