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  • Engg colleges, govt talks fail, colleges threaten to shut down from Feb. 16

    HYDERABAD: Managements of over 600 engineering colleges in the state have threatened to close down their institutions from February 16 after talks with the state government over release of funds under the fee reimbursement scheme for socially backward students failed on Friday.

    During the talks with the college managements, the state offered to release Rs 600 crore while the managements demanded the immediate release of at least 50 per cent of the total dues. In all, the state government owes Rs 1,774 crore to the over 600 engineering colleges as dues under the fee reimbursement scheme.

    Apart from engineering colleges, the functioning of most of the 350-odd MBA/MCA colleges in the state too are likely to be affected as they are owned by the same managements. Last year too, the colleges had shut down and resumed functioning three days later after the state called them for talks and released the funds.

    Social welfare minister Pithani Satyanarayana told the media after the meeting that the government had assured the engineering college managements that it would release Rs 600 crore now and another 50 per cent of the remaining dues by March-end. But the college managements did not agree to this, he added.

    Meanwhile, college management representatives said around 200 engineering, MBA and MCA colleges in the state would be forced to shut down if the reimbursement fee scheme funds are not released. “We do not receive the funds regularly. How can the government expect us to run the institutions. We will have to close them down,” said K V K Rao, spokesperson for the Engineering College Managements’ Association.

    The managements said that the government is planning to streamline the scheme by 2012. “The government representatives have assured us that by 2012 they will be able to release funds on a quarterly basis. But till then, we cannot run the classes,” said Rao. He added that the government appeared to be uncertain whether the scheme would be continued in the near future.

    However, a section of engineering colleges said they would not join the strike as they were satisfied with the government’s assurance to release Rs 600 crore. They, however, said that if the funds were not released by June, they would go on strike.

    Source : TOI

  • “Tri-Valley laid $500-bait to lure students”

    HYDERABAD: Even as the radio-tagging issue raises concerns in India, students of Tri-Valley University (TVU) in California, U.S., allege that some of their Indian friends were responsible for the crisis. University authorities were equally to blame as they encouraged fraudulent methods for attracting students, they said.

    Indian students, on condition of anonymity, told The Hindu that the university offered students a bait of $500 each if they enrolled their friends. The option was luring and widely used to impress friends back home. “Hundreds of students enrolled were referred by their friends studying here,” said a student.

    “Several fraudulent methods were encouraged by the university authorities and Indian students fell into the trap without understanding the repercussions.

    Some good students who got admission to several top universities in the U.S. also shifted to Tri-Valley as they could work without bothering to attend classes,” another student said.

    Misuse

    U.S. authorities found that the student visa was widely misused. Some employees who entered the country on a H-1 visa (work visa) took student visas from TVU and continued to work in the U.S. with the same client or different clients.

    Some doctors who had gone to the U.S. to take the USMLE (United States Medical Licensing Examination) stayed back after obtaining the F1 visa from this university. Spouses who joined their partners on dependent visas also obtained the F1 visa from TVU and started working illegally. Those who entered the U.S. with short-term business visas were also found to have taken admission in the university.

    Their confidence was that the university was not serious about attendance and academic assignments. Many students did not even bother to obtain a login ID after getting admitted to online courses. “Among the 1,700-odd enrolled till December last, 95 per cent are Telugu students. Interestingly, after December about 1,000 more took admission and the majority of them, again, are Telugus,” a student said.

    “Big crime”

    “Converting visas with fraudulent intentions is a big crime in the U.S. and most students were obviously not aware of it as the going was smooth for others,” said an attorney of Indian origin in California, whom the affected students have approached.

    The Telugu Association of North America (TANA) has helped them get in touch with attorneys and organised free counselling.

    TANA secretary Mohan Nannapaneni advised the students to contact attorneys for transfer to other universities, but this provision would be applicable only to genuine students. Those who had misused visa should go back to India and enter the U.S. legally. If deported, they could not enter the U.S. for five years.

    “We are regularly following up the issue with the authorities and students also want a positive solution,” Mr. Mohan said.

    An affected student said Indian media were unnecessarily sensationalising the ‘radio tag’ issue and further complicating their future. “We should respect the laws of the country where we live in,” he said.

    The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi said the use of “ankle monitors” was wide spread across the country and a standard procedure for investigations. It was a positive alternative to confinement during a pending investigation.

    Source : The Hindu

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