Congress Leads Fee Reimbursement Protest

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N Uttam Kumar Reddy, at a large-scale protest organized by the State Congress, rapped the TRS government over the Fee Reimbursement scheme.

Addressing a massive dharna organised by the Telangana Youth Congress at Dharna Chowk, Indira Park on Friday, Reddy urged the Chief Minister not to "play" with the careers of students, and threatened to intensify the agitation on these issues.

Reddy said that the State government neglected the repeated appeals by over 14 lakh students and their parents seeking clearance of fee reimbursement dues. He opined that Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao decided not to react to the problems being faced by lakhs of students, their families, and the sufferings of nearly 2.5 lakh employees of private colleges that were on the verge of closure.

"The government has become unresponsive and insensitive over the issue, affecting nearly 20 lakh families in the State. The Congress party will become the voice of these families, and our cadre will not rest until the dues are cleared," he said.

Reddy pointed out that the State Government owed nearly Rs. 3,000 crores towards the fee reimbursement dues pertaining to academic years 2014-15 and 2015-16. Lakhs of students, who completed their studies, were being denied degree certificates by their colleges, which consequently affected their job search. This negligent attitude of the government has forced lakhs of students to drop their plans to go for further studies. Due to non-clearance of old dues, students are neither able to apply for higher studies nor jobs.

"KCR, who already cheated students with the promise of KG to PG free education, is unwilling to secure the careers of over 14 lakh students by not clearing their tuition fee dues," he said.

The TPCC chief also slammed the Chief Minister for allegedly not fulfilling the promise of providing one lakh jobs to unemployed youth in the State, and added that the unemployment rate had risen steeply during the two-and-a-half TRS rule.

The dharna was also addressed by former Union Minister S Jaipal Reddy, TYC President Anil Kumar Yadav and other senior leaders.