Published Sep 09, 2026 | 11:39 AM ⚊ Updated Sep 09, 2026 | 11:42 AM
Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy.
Synopsis: A written reply tabled in the Telangana Assembly puts pending fee reimbursement arrears at Rs 8,591.62 crore, as private degree and PG colleges shut their gates in a statewide bandh over the same dues. The government’s answer promises payment only “based on the ways and means” of the state exchequer.
The extent of the fee reimbursement arrears that have left more than 20 lakh graduates from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, and the Economically Backward Classes in the lurch is now clear.
In a written reply to a starred question tabled in the Assembly regarding the fee reimbursement arrears, the Scheduled Castes Development Department said that the State has Rs 8,591.62 crore in pending dues. The reply came around the same time as private degree and postgraduate colleges across Telangana participated in a statewide bandh on Tuesday, 8 September, over unpaid fee reimbursement dues.
Replying to the question from MLAs Paidi Rakesh Reddy, Alleti Maheshwar Reddy, and Katipally Venkata Ramana Reddy, the Scheduled Castes Development Department on September 7 told the House that arrears stood at Rs 5,435.19 crore as of December 2023, when the Congress government took office.
A further Rs 6,032.12 crore had been added since then, taking the combined burden to roughly Rs 11,467 crore until the academic year 2025-26. Against this, the government has released Rs 2,875.69 crore, leaving a balance of Rs 8,591.62 crore.
The department’s answer offered no date as to when the outstanding amount will be paid, promising only that dues would be cleared based on the state exchequer’s ways and means.
The Fee Reimbursement Scheme, which funds tuition for SC, ST, BC, EBC and minority students, has been under strain for the past few years. Mounting arrears had triggered protests from students and management of private educational institutions alike.
The Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI) launched an indefinite strike, shutting down 1,800 institutions across the state in November 2025. The move prompted the State government to form a 15-member panel to design a sustainable funding model and address issues faced by the students in cases of arrears.
The administration then went on to publish Government Order (G.O. Ms No. 7) in 2026, extending the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) model to the post-matric scholarship, including Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF) and Maintenance Fee (MTF), in line with directions from the Union Government. Under this GO, the tuition fee reimbursement would be transferred directly to the accounts of students, a move opposed by student groups and political parties. They contested that it would place a heavy burden on the students, especially during delays in reimbursement.
The GO drew adverse observations from the High Court and was eventually withdrawn. The government replaced it with GO Ms No. 8, which set out a phased payment calendar for reimbursements, and GO Ms No. 9, which laid down how colleges were to handle fee collection during the 2026-27 admissions cycle.
More than 100 private engineering and pharmacy college managements challenged GO 9 almost immediately, arguing it simply repackaged the fee-collection curbs of GO 7 under a new number. The High Court stayed four of the order’s clauses in late June and extended that relief through the following weeks.
When the government sought to have the stay vacated ahead of the 10 July counselling round, the court instead modified it to allow colleges to proceed with admissions but barred them from collecting fees upfront. In exchange, the government was directed to clear reimbursements for second, third and fourth-year students by 31 July and release the first instalment for freshers by 15 August, failing which colleges would be free to collect fees directly. The deadlines have lapsed, but there has been no official clarification on the release of funds.
Running alongside this litigation over payment schedules has been a separate, more personal battle over certificates. The Telangana High Court on 21 August ordered a college to immediately return the original degree certificates of three BTech graduates.
The Court held that the documents were the students’ own property and could not be withheld to recover disputed dues, and that the college could pursue ordinary legal recovery instead.
Student organisations have kept up the pressure on the government throughout the year. Several protests were held in the past few months opposing the GOs 7, 8, and 9 and the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.
A massive rally was held at Hyderabad’s Indira Park on 6 August, spearheaded by the Students’ Federation of India. Participating student activists criticised the state government for putting job prospects of students at risk. They questioned how a prestigious college such as the Nizam College could withhold students’ certificates and warned of statewide agitations if arrears were not cleared.
The pressure peaked on September 7 when BJP workers pushed past barricades towards the Assembly’s main gate demanding release of the arrears, leading to a scuffle with police. State president N Ramchander Rao and several senior leaders were detained and taken to different police stations. In Hanamkonda, Telangana Rakshana Sena chief K Kavitha led a rally and sit-in with students outside the district collectorate, pressing the same demand.
The Telangana Private Degree and PG College Managements Association (TPDMA) led the college bandh across the state on Tuesday. The association said delays in fee reimbursement have caused a severe financial crisis, and many higher education institutions were on the verge of permanent shutdown.
The association president, B Surya Narayana Reddy, told the media that colleges have struggled to pay employee salaries and demanded the immediate release of funds. The association said Tuesday’s bandh will be followed by a human-chain protest on Wednesday.
From our archives:
Fee reimbursement delays put Telangana engineering graduates in quandary
(Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
