Unregistered colleges cannot claim reimbursement.
The State government has released Rs. 2150 crore, Rs. 56.15 crore more than the total arrears of Rs. 2093 crore towards the reimbursement of tuition fee to colleges and maintenance to students (SC, ST, BC, EBC, DW, MW), according to Minister for Social Welfare Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose.
The sub-committee of ministers, which met at Secretariat, discussed the issue of fee reimbursement in detail, and arrived at the decision, among others, to check the registration of junior and degree colleges and eligibility criteria of students, to check any malpractices and misappropriation.
Later briefing press persons, minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose said that 9,903 colleges have been registered, and that there are some without registration.
Stating that there are over 26.50 lakh students, an amount of Rs. 3,800 crore is required for the program, which had been well-received so far, the minister said.
He made it clear that students must fulfil the attendance requirement of 75% in order to be eligible for the scheme, and must also pass the exam to enter the next year.
Students who fail cannot claim the reimbursement for the same year.
Students have been asked to give their applications for the reimbursement, he said. Freshers must apply from November 15, and senior students will have to apply for renewals from November 20, he said.
When asked about notaries charging Rs. 300 to Rs. 400, he said orders have been issued to fix the limit for the notary fee at Rs. 20. The sub-committee is meeting again on November 8, to regulate such irritants.
The notaries in the agency areas will go to the colleges and complete the affidavit formalities to check the genuineness of the students.
Revenue officials will visit the colleges, and education department officials will enquire about misappropriation of funds, the Minister said.
The meeting consisted of Social Welfare Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose, Agriculture Minister N Raghuveera Reddy, Tribal Welfare Minister P Balaraju, Higher Education Minister D Sridhar Babu and BC Welfare Minister Mukesh Goud, among others.
Courtesy: INN