TS order permitting self-financing KNPW courses worries parents

Hyderabad: The parents of Kamala Nehru Polytechnic for Women (KNPW) are worried after a recent Telangana government order discontinued seven aided courses and permitted the college management to start the same courses under self-finance mode.

On 27 October, the officials from the Exhibition Society that runs KNPW called the parents to discuss the government order. Around 200 parents gathered for the meeting. They were told that they will have to pay Rs. 15,000 as annual fees under the self-finance mode. Also, the Exhibition Society said the students will have to reimburse their scholarships for the maintenance of the college.

Anusha Gali, an alumna of the college, said, "Further, the college management asked all the parents to pay Rs. 4,000 now as the scholarships would take another six months to come. They said that this money would be utilised to appoint faculty members."

According to sources, at the meeting, the management said those who agree to this system can continue and the others can join any other government institution from a list of government colleges. It is important to note here that many of the girls studying at this college come from poor families.

What does the order say?

On 12 October 2022, the state higher education department issued a GO permitting the discontinuation of seven aided courses in the college and resuming the same on a self-finance mode. The seven courses mentioned in the order were Diploma in Computer Engineering (DCE), Diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering (DECE), Diploma in Commercial and Computer Practise (DCCP), Diploma Architectural Assistantship (DAA), Diploma in Hotel Management and Catering Technology (DHMCT), Diploma in Garment Technology (DGT), and Diploma in Pharmacy (D.Pharm).

"The government, after careful examination of the matter, hereby agree for discontinuation of seven aided courses—DCE, DECE, DCCP, DAA, DHMCT, DGT, and D.Pharm—from Grant-in-Aid and permit to start the above said courses under self-finance mode to the Kamala Nehru Polytechnic for Women, Hyderabad from the academic year 2022-23. Grant-in-Aid to the said courses permitted to Kamala Nehru Polytechnic for Women, Hyderabad is discontinued from 2022-23," read the GO.

'Where will our children go?'

A parent, whose daughter is pursuing first-year Diploma in Electronics and Communication Engineering (DECE), asked, "Why is the college management telling us now, in the middle of the academic year, that the courses will be self-financing hereafter? Why didn't they tell me during counselling? Where will our children go now?"

Raising similar concerns, some of the parents questioned how the college management could admit students to aided courses and then change them midway to self-financing.

Considering the parents' concerns, the Exhibition Society said they will think about it and have another meeting with the parents soon.

The students and alumni of KNPW, supported by civil society organisations, have been struggling to resume discontinued courses in the college in aided mode. Social activist Shanta Sinha had filed a writ petition in the High Court requesting it to direct the government to extend financial, technical, and other facilities to the institution. In April 2022, the court asked the government to take appropriate decision within 45 days. The recent government order is a response to this court direction.

Cover picture source: Twitter