Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education Chairman K. Hemachandra Reddy has said that the government will pay full tuition fee under Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme.
At a press conference on Wednesday, Prof. Reddy sought to allay the fears of parents and students, and said the fourth tranche of the tuition fee for the October, November and December trimester last year would be released immediately after the conclusion of the ongoing Assembly session this month, while the first tranche of this year’s trimester (January, February and March) would be released next month.
He said the objective of the scheme was to impart quality education on students from the economically weaker sections. Ever since the YSR Congress Party had come to power, it had ensured effective implementation of the fee reimbursement scheme, he claimed.
In the academic year 2019-20, the government released funds to the tune of ₹4,000 crore, including arrears worth ₹1,880 crore left behind by the former TDP government under this scheme, he said. In the next academic year (2020-21), despite serious financial crisis on account of the COVID-19 outbreak, the government released a sum of ₹671.03 crore in April 2021, pertaining to the first trimester, ₹693.27 crore pertaining to the second trimester in July and ₹683.13 crore pertaining to the third trimester in November.
Prof. Reddy said the former TDP government neglected this important scheme by either releasing partial funds or not making payments at all, resulting in accumulation of enormous arrears that the YSR Congress Party had to clear after coming to the power.
He said for the first time in the State, the government had constituted AP Higher Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission with a retired High Court Judge as its Chairman. The Commission had the power to initiate action against colleges that violated the rule book, he said.
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