What’s next for aided degree colleges? Their fate to be decided this academic yr

HYDERABAD: The fate of aided degree colleges—which are on verge of closure due to lack of faculty and financial aid—will most likely be decided in the academic year 2019-20. The commissioner of technical education Navin Mittal said that a committee has been formed to look into the issue and that they are expected to submit their report by May 31.

“Due to lack of aided faculty, many colleges are converting aided courses into self-financed courses. While the college and principal continue to be aided, courses offered are becoming self-financed ones,” said Mittal. He added, “At this juncture, we wanted a committee to completely study these colleges and submit a report so that the state can decide on the fate of aided colleges.”
In the state, there are about 69 aided colleges, which used to offer quality education to students at an affordable cost as their tuition fees is set on par with government colleges. While the aided colleges are supposed to get financial aid from the state government for payment of salaries to teachers recruited for the aided positions, in 2004, erstwhile AP government issued a Government Order (GO)—GO MS 35—that banned the filling up of vacant aided positions in all aided degree colleges.
Subsequently, due to retirements and lack of recruitments, many departments are left with no aided faculty and colleges started recruiting private faculty to continue offering courses.
“It looks like a policy decision. The state is making public sector weak. By not recruiting aided faculty, these colleges will turn into private ones and start charging lakhs of rupees as fee, in turn, taking away quality education from poor and middle-class students or they will be converted into commercial complexes,” said G Nagaiah, president, Telangana Private Degree Colleges Association.