HYDERABAD: Describing the recent GO 7 issued by the state government as an attempt to stop the students’ fee reimbursement scheme, BRS working president KT Rama Rao on Sunday demanded that the government withdraw the same immediately.
In a letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, the Sircilla MLA alleged that the state’s education system has been crippled under Congress rule.
“The latest GO would completely distance the poor from higher education. It is a conspiracy hatched to abolish the fee reimbursement scheme, which is intended to support 1.4 million BC, SC, ST and minority students in the state,” he said.
After the introduction of the GO, not only students but also lakhs of poor parents had lost their peace of mind, he added.
Rama Rao recalled that the fee reimbursement scheme was introduced with good intentions by former Congress chief minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy in the undivided Andhra Pradesh and the same was continued by the K Chandrasekhar Rao government in the separate Telangana.
“After the Congress formed the government, the fee reimbursement scheme has been neglected,” he alleged.
“Don’t you feel ashamed to undermine a scheme that was once implemented by your own party government?” Rama Rao asked Revanth in his letter.
‘Institutions harassed’
The BRS leader alleged that more than 2,500 higher education institutions are being harassed for the last two-and-a-half years by non-release of fee reimbursement amounts. “Instead of clearing dues, the government misled them with an assurance of one-time settlements, trust mechanisms, tokens and committees,” he said.
Even the tokens issued with the promise of releasing `1,207 crore have not been honoured till date, Rama Rao said and alleged that the conspiracy behind halting funds has now become clear.
Rama Rao said that the guidelines introduced for the 2026-27 academic year appear to be a death warrant for the fee reimbursement scheme. Poor people are now worried whether their children will even get admissions, he said.
“Due to non-payment of fee, the certificates of the students were stuck in colleges,” he added.
“Even today, the government has not clarified when it would release the Rs 10,000 crore dues, which reflects its deceitful approach. Despite taking loans of Rs 3.75 lakh crores, failing to release even a single rupee for fee reimbursements is nothing short of cruelty,” he alleged.
