Hyderabad: Be it due to the current job market or the fee reimbursement issue, demand for engineering and other professional courses is expected to decline from the coming academic year. Students are increasingly likely to opt for three-year degree programmes instead.Until the previous academic year, even students from economically weaker sections chose engineering courses, as the govt covered their fees and allowed them to join colleges without any upfront payment. However, under the new system, students are required to pay the fees first and seek reimbursement later.“There is no way my family can afford to send me to top colleges now. As an ST student, I am eligible for full reimbursement, but if I have to pay upfront, I will have to compromise either on the course or the college,” said B Anjali, who scored 991 out of 1,000 in her Intermediate second-year exams and is currently preparing for JEE and EAPCET. She added that her mother works as a farm labourer, earning between Rs 200 and Rs 400 a day, making it difficult to arrange the required fee.“The only way out would be if the govt could convince colleges to admit students like me without demanding fees upfront,” she said.The minimum tuition fee in engineering colleges stands at Rs 45,000 per year, with more than 40 colleges charging over Rs 1 lakh annually. In contrast, the minimum fee in degree colleges is around Rs 15,000.Degree college managements are also anticipating a shift toward three-year courses. “It is a fact that even degree courses are eligible for reimbursement. However, the average fee here is about Rs 15,000, which most families can afford. As a result, students and parents are likely to prefer courses such as BSc, BCom, and BBA,” said Y Ramakrishna, secretary of the Telangana Degree College Managements Association.Meanwhile, educationists and student leaders have expressed concern that the govt’s decision to transfer fees directly to students, without specifying a timeline, appears to be an indirect way of withdrawing from its responsibility.“This seems like an attempt to gradually phase out the fee reimbursement scheme. Only students with financial means will be able to pursue professional courses or study in top colleges. Indirectly, the govt is denying poor students access to quality education,” said K Laxminarayana, organising secretary of the Telangana Save Education Committee and a professor at the University of Hyderabad.He further pointed out that the lack of clarity on reimbursement timelines makes it difficult for students to even secure loans. “Even if they manage to pay the first year’s fees, what happens if reimbursements are delayed for years, as is currently the case with managements? Students may have no option but to drop out,” he said.Faculty members from engineering colleges also noted that engineering, particularly computer science and related fields, is gradually losing its appeal due to layoffs in the IT sector and rapid disruptions caused by artificial intelligence.
