Officials in a fix on how to explain issues to Governor Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan

Hyderabad: Are private engineering colleges in Telangana allowed to avail fee reimbursement scheme without submission of common service rules to the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological Univerity, Hyderabad (JNTU-H)? According to sources, the issue has come to light and assumed significance following the JNTU-H and the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) preparing a report on the payment of salaries to the teaching and non-teaching staff in the private unaided engineering colleges.

Speaking to The Hans India, JNTU-H sources said that they were asked to prepare a report on the issue following the direction from the Chancellor of the State Universities and Governor, Dr Tamilisai Soundararajan. Out of the total affiliated college of engineering, management and pharmacy colleges, about 191 colleges have reportedly submitted their common service rules. "Five to seven colleges had informed that they were closing down the colleges. But, a little over 60 colleges have not submitted their common service rules," the sources added.

Giving details of the subject in question, a JNTU-H official, who, earlier acted as part of the physical inspections of the colleges for affiliation said, that every college has to submit the common service rules to the JNTU-H. The rules explain the organisational management of how the colleges governing the institutions run by them like any other educational department in the government sector. They cover employment, administration and other policies.

That apart, the colleges also give an undertaking to the effect that they would pay salaries to the teaching and non-teaching staff through online transfer, throughout the academic year, irrespective of any temporary financial issues that they might face. Besides, every year, the colleges have to submit a financial statement to the university. However, while preparing the reports to be sent to the Chancellor, the officials found that several colleges have been receiving fee reimbursement from the State government have not complied with the submission of the reports as per the affiliation and recognition norms.

Now the officials are scratching their heads as to how to explain this situation to the chancellor in their report. Also, another issue that needs to be answered is, how the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC) fixed fees to such colleges failing to submit compliance reports under the fee reimbursement scheme? Are the colleges submitting different reports to different entities looking after the regulatory, affiliation and recognitions? Against this backdrop, the officials are mulling whether to incorporate all these shortcomings in the report to be sent to the chancellor.

If included, it is like a jigsaw puzzle as to what clarifications and justification do the State Higher Education Department (SHED), JNTU-H, TAFRC and TSCHE have for these issues.