The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has warned the ruling Congress government that the party will take to the streets if scholarship and fee reimbursement dues of Backward Classes, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes (BC, SC, ST) and minority students are not cleared immediately, the party will not remain silent, AIMIM floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi said.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the Telangana Assembly on Tuesday, Akbaruddin said that dues to the tune of Rs 8,000 crore have been pending for the last four years, the government should immediately Rs 1,000 crore. He pointed out that the non-disbursement of funds is causing severe hardships to SC, ST, BC, and minority students, stated a report by The New Indian Express.
Both students, teaching staff and college management are facing significant losses due to this issue.
Each year, approximately seven lakh students are affected by the delay in releasing these funds.
He explained that due to the non-payment of fee reimbursement, colleges are withholding certificates from students. College managment are running their operations by collecting fees directly from the students.
The delay in clearing dues has left around 20 lakh students in distress and caused financial strain on four lakh teaching staff, who are not receiving their salaries on time.
Students, unable to obtain their certificates, are missing important job opportunities, while teaching staff are facing financial hardships due to delayed salaries. He said that the pending dues from the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh were cleared by the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government, and now it is the responsibility of the Congress government to settle the pending dues left by the BRS government at the earliest. He declared that his party would fight relentlessly for the student's rightful dues, according to a report by The New Indian Express.
He said that clearing fee reimbursement is the government's responsibility, if government fails to clear the dues, AIMIM warned that it will stage protests in the streets. He also called for support from all political parties to address the issue. BRS extended their support to AIMIM on the issue.
