Telangana high court suspends govt order on tuition fee reimbursement

Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Thursday ordered an interim suspension of a GO issued on June 6 relating to tuition fee reimbursement for private engineering colleges.Justice J Sridevi passed the interim orders while hearing petitions filed by engineering colleges and adjourned the matter for a week.The court on Wednesday expressed displeasure with the education department for delaying the filing of counters in petitions by private engineering colleges seeking release of long‑pending tuition fee reimbursement dues. It directed the state govt and the department to spell out when the arrears would be cleared. Reports indicate the state owes over ₹1,000 crore to the engineering colleges.Rahul Reddy, special govt pleader, informed the court that he had no instructions from the govt on the issue and that the advocate general would appear and argue the matter.

He sought additional time from the court.Meanwhile, counsel Sriram Tarun G Reddy and senior advocate Subrahmanyam Sriram, representing the petitioner colleges, urged the court to issue interim directions on specific clauses of the GO until final adjudication.The suspension covers clauses permitting institutions to admit eligible students under the convener quota through a transparent merit‑based process, with a structured fee payment mechanism.

It also halts the direct benefit transfer model clause, under which tuition, hostel, and other eligible expenses were to be credited directly to students’ bank accounts instead of institutions.Another clause restrained by the order required students to remit the full fee to colleges within seven working days of receiving funds, making student‑managed payments on the basis of admission. The court’s interim suspension ensures that institutions continue to receive designated fees directly, pending a final ruling.The matter will come up again next week, with the high court expecting the govt and education department to provide a clear timeline for settling dues owed to engineering colleges.