Colleges End Strike After Rs 600-Cr Nod

Hyderabad: The Federation of Aided and Technical Higher Institutions (FATHI) called off its week-long strike on Friday night after Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka assured that Rs 600 billion would be released within three days and the remaining arrears would be written off in a phased manner. The decision came hours after Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy warned that prolonged protests during the exam season could invite harsh action and urged managements to immediately resume academic activities.

This breakthrough came after a meeting with Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka and Education Minister Komatireddy Venkata Reddy at Praja Bhavan. FATHI was demanding the release of Rs 1,500 crore from pending fee reimbursement dues owed to private and aided institutions in Telangana.

Speaking after the meeting, Bhatti said Rs 600 billion has already been released, another Rs 600 billion will be distributed immediately and the remaining Rs 300 billion will be collected in the next phase. He added that the government will also constitute a committee consisting of officials and representatives of university administrators to review reforms in the fee reimbursement process and submit recommendations quickly.

FATHI president Nimmaturi Ramesh clarified that he had not made any derogatory remarks against the federation’s higher education secretary Devasena or officials in the offices of the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. “Some statements were conveyed incorrectly. We made a statement to the relevant authorities,” he said.

Ramesh noted that the strike, which started on November 3, had disrupted the exams and assured that the colleges would work with the universities to conduct the pending tests as soon as possible. FATHI general secretary Ravikumar announced that the lecturers’ demonstration scheduled for Saturday has been canceled and all colleges will reopen tomorrow.

Earlier in the day, Union Home Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar criticized the state government, alleging that it had misled university managements about fee refund dues, which had put strain on institutions and disrupted teaching.