Private colleges in Telangana threaten State-wide bandh from November 3 over ₹900 crore pending fee reimbursement

The Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI) on Sunday convened an emergency general body meeting to discuss the financial distress faced by private colleges across the State due to the prolonged delay in fee reimbursement payments.

After detailed deliberations, the federation unanimously decided to give the Telangana government a deadline of November 1 to fulfil four major demands, failing which all private higher education institutions in the State will observe a bandh from November 3.

The first demand concerns the immediate release of ₹900 crore in pending fee reimbursement dues. FATHI noted that out of the ₹1,200 crore promised by the government for disbursal before Dasara and Deepavali, only ₹300 crore had been released so far. The remaining amount, it said, must be cleared by November 1.

The second demand is for a defined roadmap to clear all outstanding dues up to the 2024–25 academic year, estimated at around ₹9,000 crore, by March 31, 2026. The third calls for a time-bound plan to ensure that dues for the current academic year (2025–26) are fully paid by June 30, 2026.

Additionally, FATHI urged the government to issue guidelines and No Objection Certificates (NoCs) for AICTE-approved new courses, which have been pending for several months. The federation argued that the delays have hampered institutions from applying for these courses for the upcoming academic year.

In its resolution, FATHI appealed to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka to take urgent cognisance of the crisis, stressing that the financial strain threatens the survival of thousands of private colleges, their faculty, staff and students across Telangana.