Hyderabad: A significant number of engineering colleges in Telangana have submitted proposals to the Telangana Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee (TAFRC), citing the need for infrastructure upgrades and increases in faculty numbers and salaries. These colleges are seeking a 40% fee hike for the next block period of 2025 to 2028. Some colleges have proposed a fee increase of 60% to 70%, while the top 10 to 15 colleges are asking for a 100% hike.
“Except for about 15 colleges, all others submitted proposals seeking a hike for the next block period,” said G Nagaiah, Consortium President of the Telangana Technical Colleges Managements Association. He mentioned that many autonomous colleges require additional faculty to maintain the faculty-student ratio and infrastructure, justifying their request for a 40% hike. According to him, a minimum hike of 30% to 40% is necessary to maintain quality standards in engineering education.
For the upcoming block period, colleges charging around Rs 1.5 lakh per annum are requesting fees of approximately Rs 3 lakh per annum, representing a 100% fee hike. In the previous block period (2022 to 2025), the highest approved hike was for the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Technology, which saw its fee fixed at Rs 1.6 lakh—Rs 52,000 more than the previous block period. The average hike during that period ranged from 20% to 70%.
Some management representatives argue that colleges seeking steep fee hikes should take responsibility for economically backward meritorious students. “No student with merit should be deprived of education. If colleges charge around Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh, financially disadvantaged students will be unable to join despite their ranks, forcing them to seek cheaper options. The only way to ensure access to top colleges is to make managements responsible for their education,” said KVK Rao, general sSecretary of the All India Federation of Self-Financing Technical Institutions.
Meanwhile, officials stated that any fee hikes will be approved based on the last three years’ financial audit reports. “Managements need to substantiate their requests by submitting audit reports. Therefore, it is likely they will receive what they asked for,” said M Manzoor Hussain, a member of TAFRC. Personal hearings for the 163 engineering colleges that submitted proposals for fee hikes will commence on February 25.
