Over Rs.9,600 Crore in Fee Dues Pending, Students Under Pressure: Y.S. Jagan

YSR Congress Party president and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has accused the Chandrababu Naidu-led government of failing to clear more than Rs.9,600 crore in pending fee reimbursement dues, alleging that the financial burden is pushing students into severe distress.

Reacting to a student's suicide attempt at a private engineering college in Chittoor, Jagan said the incident was linked to the government's failure to release fee reimbursement funds. He alleged that college managements were pressuring students and their parents to pay outstanding fees, creating an atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainty among those pursuing higher education.

Holding Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, Education Minister and IT Minister Nara Lokesh responsible for the situation, Jagan questioned the government's response to repeated student protests. He pointed out that students at the same college had reportedly faced suicide-related incidents in the past, but their grievances had not received adequate attention from the authorities.

Jagan said his government had introduced schemes such as Amma Vodi, Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena to ensure that financial difficulties did not prevent economically weaker students from accessing higher education. However, he alleged that the present government had weakened the fee reimbursement and hostel assistance programmes since assuming office.

Providing a breakdown of the outstanding payments, Jagan said Rs.9,100 crore was due under Vidya Deevena for 13 quarters, calculated at Rs.700 crore per quarter. Another Rs.3,300 crore was pending under Vasathi Deevena for April 2024, 2025 and 2026, at Rs.1,100 crore annually.

Against the combined dues of Rs.12,400 crore, the government had released only Rs.1,700 crore under one scheme and Rs.1,100 crore under the other, leaving more than Rs.9,600 crore unpaid, he claimed.

He further alleged that colleges were threatening students with denial of examination opportunities and withholding certificates over unpaid fees. Such pressure was forcing some students to discontinue their education and take up jobs, while others were experiencing serious mental stress.

Jagan demanded that Lokesh be removed from the Education portfolio and urged the government to immediately clear all pending Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena payments. He also called for an end to pressure tactics against students and asked the Chief Minister to address their grievances instead of diverting attention from the Chittoor incident.