VIJAYAWADA: State secretary of the Communist Party of India (CPI), Gujjula Eswarayya, on Monday shot off a strongly worded open letter to Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, urging the release of Rs 6,400 crore in long-pending fee reimbursement and scholarship dues owed to lakhs of students from EBC, SC, ST, BC, and minority communities.
In the letter dated November 24, he warned that continued delay in clearing the arrears is pushing poor students away from higher education and forcing managements to exert pressure on them. “Six semesters’ fee reimbursement arrears of Rs 4,200 crore and scholarship dues of Rs 2,200 crore - totalling Rs 6,400 crore - remain unpaid, posing a threat to the future of lakhs of students,” it stated.
He said, “Eighteen months have passed since the coalition assumed office in June 2024, yet a meagre Rs 600 crore has been released, that too limited to press statements. This amounts to betraying lakhs of students and their parents.” “With no alternative left, student organisations in AP are gearing up for agitation,” the letter warned.