HYDERABAD: After imposing an unofficial ban on the entry of new private degree and PG colleges in the state for a year, the Telangana government is planning to allow more colleges to come up in districts. According to the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE), new colleges will be set up outside the district headquarters where there is a demand for higher education.
In Telangana most of the degree colleges are located only in towns and at district centres. The TSCHE has found out that degree colleges at district centres have more seats than eligible students. Around 70 percent of 1,278 private and 120 government degree colleges are located at district centres. Of them, more than 300 were established only in the past three years.
To decentralise higher education, the TSCHE has decided to allow more colleges in rural areas. The council has already received more than 50 applications for new colleges, according to a senior official. Earlier, the TSCHE denied permission for new colleges, citing the absence of demand for new colleges.
After a year it has decided to revise its decision as several of the existing colleges with poor enrolment might be denied affiliation by the respective state universities. The fate of many private colleges will be decided after the inspections by TSCHE teams.
Similar to the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTUH), the TSCHE planned to inspect the degree and private colleges to examine their facilities and their enrolment. Universities were directed to cancel their affiliation to the institutes which were found violating the UGC norms.
Inspection teams, comprising faculty members from state universities, will visit private degree and PG colleges across TS and submit a report based on their observations. To ensure transparency, the TSCHE has decided to implement the jumbling system to appoint inspection teams. Faculty members from a varsity will not be sent to inspect colleges affiliated to same university.