TS sits on dues, OU holds up certificates

Telangana CM K Chandrasekhar Rao’s unfulfilled promise of clearing students’ mess dues has resulted in a pile-up of mark sheets and PG completion certificates at colleges under OU, much of it at the Arts College.

Mr Rao had promised in the Assembly and while campaigning for the Warangal bypolls that the students’ mess dues worth `7 crore would be cleared by the government. This hasn’t been effected. Memos and certificates are given to students only after dues are paid. Students will not be able to apply for jobs or the state public service commission exams without the documents.

While Mr Rao promised to clear `7 crore mess dues, OU had officially asked for `9.25 crore. Senior officials said the backlog of all dues stands at `30 crore. Arts College Principal Prof. Ashok Naidu said, “The mess and tuition fees dues go back to 1998. The dues that the university has informed the state government are for 200514. If dues are calculated from 1998, it will be about `30 crore for all colleges on OU. Around `10 crore will be for Arts College.”

He also said that if the government pays and clears all dues, then certificates can be given away and accounting can start afresh. He said, “The dues get accumulated because the scholarship money which SC/ST and OBC students get is low. While SC/ST students get `750 per month and OBC students get `650, the mess charges are `2,500 a month per student.”