'We will not move our children!': Parents raise hell over the unaffiliated status of Sri Chaitanya Junior College

Anxious parents of 2,200 students studying in Sri Chaitanya Junior College in Hydernagar, Nizampet staged a protest on Thursday demanding that the college should get an affiliation from the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) at the earliest. Over 100 people, gheraoed the college campus and demanded action against the college administration that has been functioning for a year without affiliation. 

Parents said that in a meeting with college management after the protest, the latter proposed that they would apply for affiliation. However, if they failed to get it, the students would be moved to other branches of the umbrella group that are recognised by the BIE. Parents have rejected the proposal. 

We had admitted our child here thinking about the brand and hoping they would have a bright future. This sort of cheating has put the future of so many students in the dark

Kiranmayee, Parent

"Such is the case with most corporate institutions. They run several unrecognised colleges and during examinations, they move their students to other branches that have the affiliation. These colleges are playing with the future of their students," said J Dileep, an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activist, who lent support to the protest. 

Only a day ago, A Ashok, Secretary of BIE had revealed that 16 junior colleges under Sri Chaitanya group had been levied a fine to the tune of Rs 1.4 crore for irregularities in the administrative procedures like poor infrastructure and labs, unauthorized additional classrooms, etc, during a vigilance check. He added that these colleges would not be able to register for affiliation unless they paid the fine. The Board has extended the deadline for registering the affiliation to August 10. 

Parents on the Prowl: The parents of 2,200 students studying in the college staged a protest on Thursday

It is also worth noting that out of the 1600 private junior colleges that had applied for affiliation, only 1205 have been granted it. The Board said that it was undecided on the fate of the remaining 395 colleges that had failed to submit the documentation required. When Express approached the College, its manager Ram Babu, refused to comment on the matter. 

"We have paid Rs 1 lakh as a year's fees. In other Sri Chaitanya colleges, the fees is only Rs.60,000. Our demand is that the college should get affiliation. We will not move our children to any other branch," said A Goud, a parent. Another parent wondered about the future of the students had BIE not extended the date for registration. “We had admitted our child here thinking about the brand and hoping they would have a bright future. This sort of cheating has put the future of so many students in the dark,” said Kiranmayee, a parent.