Telangana private colleges call off protest after government assures fee reimbursement

Following the assurance by the Telangana government to release fee reimbursement arrears by September 21, the private colleges have called off their ongoing protests from today. The Telangana government has decided to release Rs 600 crore towards fee reimbursement after three days of discussion with college management

The remaining Rs 60 crore is expected to be cleared by next month by the state government.

The withdrawal of the strike came after a prolonged standoff over pending reimbursements that had disrupted academic activity, affecting lakhs of students across the state.

Furthermore, according to members of the Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Education Institutions (FATHI), a new committee will also be constituted with representation from colleges to look after revenue models and work on permanent solutions to the recurring fee reimbursement issues.

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Why were colleges protesting?

More than 2,000 private and degree colleges in Telangana declared an indefinite shutdown of colleges, citing the delay in clearing fee reimbursement dues. FATHI set September 21 as the deadline for the release of dues. The association’s chairman, N Ramesh Babu, also said that if the government did not release the dues by the given deadline, a massive protest would be held on September 23 and 24.

The association’s chairman, Ravi Kumar, also said the exam in Telnagan private colleges would remain suspended until the issue is resolved. During a meeting, the association demanded that the state clear all arrears amounting to nearly Rs 8,000 crore from previous years and proposed that 50% can be released by October 21 and leftover balance by December 31.

According to several media reports, the faculty and non-teaching staff in multiple colleges have gone months without salaries due to the delay. The association further announced that students will not attend classes and college gates will remain locked during the agitation.

“The Telangana government has decided to release Rs 600 crore towards fee reimbursement arrears by September 21, 2025, after three days of discussions with private college managements. The remaining Rs 60 crore is expected to be cleared next month,” the official FATHI statement said.