Telangana to cancel fee reimbursement for poor students whose parents did not study in state

Telangana to cancel fee reimbursement for poor students whose parents did not study in state
Telangana to cancel fee reimbursement for poor students whose parents did not study in state
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The News Minute| June 24, 2014| 10.35 pm ISTThe Telangana Government has introduced a clause which bars those students whose parents had not studied in Telangana from availing fee reimbursement under the government’s fee reimbursement scheme. The scheme was introduced in (undivided) Andhra Pradesh in 2008 by YSR Reddy with an aim to provide scholarships to college students from economically backward sections. According to the 32nd Amendment, the rights of the local people of a state with regard to education and employment are protected by an 85% quota for them. But the problem under the new clause is that even those students who have done their schooling from Telangana will now be considered non-locals if their parents had not pursued their education from Telangana. This makes them eligible only for the 15% seats. Locals are also eligible under this 15%. The controversy arose when the Telangana government decided not to give scholarships to the 39,000 students of Andhra origin enrolled in colleges in Telangana, but the matter was mutually resolved by the governments of Andhra and Telangana. It has been decided that the Andhra Pradesh government will pay for the 39,000 students studying in Telangana and the Telangana government will pay for the 18,000 students enrolled in Andhra. But under this settlement, Telangana is only considering those students whose parents have studied in Telangana as locals and hence, the future of many who cannot afford higher education is at stake. P.Madhusudan Reddy from the Telangana Government Junior College Lecturers’ Association says that this is problematic because the children of many poor migrants will not be able to avail the scholarships. He also points to the fact that the education structure is not supposed to be disturbed for ten years on the bifurcation of the state.Tarun Maudgalya, Co-Founder, Telangana Students’ Forum, speaks in favour of the government’s move, “The decision of the Telangana Government is a welcome one indeed. Categorically, it disqualifies most of the students from Seemandhra region, who have attained a ‘local’ status from availing theFee Reimbursement and makes sure that the deserving, local Telangana candidates benefit from the clause.”Currently, students enrolled in professional courses receive an amount of 52,000 each year.

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