Harish Rao Flags Fee Reimbursement Delays, Calls on BRSV to Reach Villages

Former minister and BRS MLA T. Harish Rao has accused the Congress government of weakening Telangana’s education system and alleged that students from BC, SC, ST and minority communities are being denied their due benefits. He criticised the government for allegedly sidelining the fee reimbursement scheme despite promising in its election manifesto to continue and strengthen it. Harish Rao urged BRS student wing leaders to visit villages and explain what he described as the Congress government’s failures to the public.

Speaking at a meeting with BRSV leaders and constituency-level student representatives at his camp office in Siddipet, Harish Rao said the fee reimbursement scheme introduced during the united Andhra Pradesh period was continued and expanded by the KCR government after Telangana was formed. He claimed that even during the COVID-19-induced economic crisis, the previous government continued releasing funds without stopping payments. According to him, the KCR government released around Rs 19,500 crore towards fee reimbursement over nine-and-a-half years, averaging nearly Rs 2,000 crore annually.

Harish Rao alleged that the Congress government had allocated only around Rs 400 crore over the past three years, claiming this had weakened the scheme. He also recalled the Congress manifesto promise to strengthen fee reimbursement and provide a Rs 5 lakh education assurance card to students under the ‘Yuva Vikasam’ programme. He alleged that the promise had not been translated into visible implementation.

He further criticised the government over pending fee reimbursement dues, citing assurances made by Chief Minister and then Education Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka regarding clearing arrears. Harish Rao alleged that students were struggling to pay examination fees and claimed that welfare hostels and degree colleges were facing difficulties. He also accused the government of failing to implement promises related to the job calendar and Mega DSC.

Highlighting the previous BRS government’s initiatives, Harish Rao said the Mana Ooru-Mana Badi programme improved government schools, while the number of residential educational institutions increased from around 300 to nearly 1,000.

On Siddipet, he alleged that the Congress government cancelled a Rs 200-crore agriculture college sanctioned for the district and shifted a veterinary college, for which around 25% of construction had reportedly been completed, to Kodangal.

Harish Rao called for stronger BRSV committees across villages and urged student leaders to explain the differences between the previous BRS government and the Congress government to the public while encouraging new student leadership.