AP may offer Rs 500cr to avert strike on fees

The state government has invited representatives of private professional colleges for talks on Saturday in its bid to break the deadlock over the payment of fee reimbursement arrears amounting to Rs 1,800 crore. It is being speculated that the government will offer to release Rs 500 crore immediately to the colleges during the talks to avert the strike announced by colleges from May 26.

The managements have already issued notices to the government that they will start an “indefinite bandh” in over 600 engineering and 1,000 MBA and MCA colleges from May 26 if the government fails to clear the dues by May 25.

The meeting will be held at the office of the AP State Council of Higher Education at Masab Tank at 3pm. Professor K.C. Reddy, chairman, APSCHE, will hold the talks with the representatives of the Consortium of Engineering Colleges Managements Association (CECMA).

Sources in the department of higher education said the talks are being held on the directions of the Chief Minister, Mr K. Rosaiah, who had expressed concern over the indefinite strike announced by the colleges.

The minister for technical education, Mr M. Venkata Ramana Rao, took up the issue with the CM on Thursday after holding preliminary discussions with CECMA in the Secretariat.

Mr Rosaiah reportedly agreed to issue orders releasing Rs 500 crore to colleges immediately to avert the strike and asked the minister to convey this to the managements during the talks on Saturday.

However, representatives of CECMA said they had no information about the release of the money but admitted that they were called for talks on Saturday.