Telangana HC continues stay on fee collection ban for SC, ST, BC, minority students

Court extends interim stay on GO 7 rule linking fee collection to reimbursement; directs state to file counter by June 24.

Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday, May 4, extended its interim orders staying a government rule that prevents private colleges from collecting fees from students belonging to SC, ST, BC, minority and differently-abled categories until reimbursements are credited.

The order came during the hearing of a batch of petitions filed by private colleges challenging government orders issued under the fee reimbursement scheme. Justice Juvvadi Sridevi heard the matter.

The state’s special counsel, S Rahul Reddy, informed the court that additional time was needed to file a detailed counter affidavit, including data on pending fee reimbursements and provisions in the new Government Order (GO), including those for the 2025–26 academic year.

The government submitted that fee reimbursement payments are continuing through the respective welfare departments and that token releases have already been issued to several colleges.

Petitioners’ arguments

Counsel for the petitioners argued that Clause 12 of Paragraph 5 in GO No. 7 requires tuition fees to be deposited directly into students’ bank accounts through the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system, after which students are expected to pay colleges as per the fee fixed by the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC).

They contended that this provision effectively prevents colleges from collecting fees during admissions, placing institutions under financial strain. The petitioners requested the court to extend last week’s interim stay on the clause.

Considering the ongoing academic year, the High Court directed the state government to file its counter by June 24 and extended the interim suspension of the provision restricting fee collection until further orders.