Telangana Education Crisis: Private Engineering Colleges Begin Indefinite Strike From Tomorrow, Engineer’s Day Turns ‘Black Day’
College managements expressed deep regret for the inconvenience caused to students and parents but firmly placed the responsibility for this unprecedented crisis on the Telangana State Government. They stated that the strike is a last resort after exhausting all other avenues for dialogue.
Hyderabad: In a dramatic escalation of the ongoing education crisis, all private professional colleges in Telangana, operating under the Federation of Associations of Telangana Higher Institutions (FATHI), have announced an indefinite strike starting tomorrow, September 15, 2025. This move threatens to disrupt the academic calendar for lakhs of students across the state.
Engineer’s Day, usually a celebration of innovation and achievement, will now be observed as a ‘Black Day’ across campuses in protest against the state government’s persistent failure to clear long-pending fee reimbursement dues or provide a concrete resolution to the financial crisis.
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The decision was ratified by the FATHI General Body after the state government’s meeting with college managements failed to offer any clarity on fund disbursement. Federation leaders allege that no viable solution has been presented, leaving institutions struggling to survive.
The Crisis at Hand
The root cause is the government’s non-payment of Fee Reimbursement and Scholarship amounts for several years. The impact has been devastating:
- College managements are unable to pay faculty and staff, many of whom have not received salaries for months.
- Employees and their families are facing severe financial distress, worsened by the ongoing festival season of Dussehra.
- Students are caught in the crossfire, with academic activities disrupted and their futures uncertain.
Five Key Demands
FATHI has declared that the strike will continue indefinitely until the state government fulfills these five demands:
- Immediate release of the already sanctioned ₹1,200 crore before Dussehra.
- Clearance of all pending dues from previous years by December 31, 2025.
- Publication of the feasibility report on the proposed Trust Bank system by October 31, 2025.
- Issuance of a Government Order (GO) detailing the new reimbursement system for the 2025-26 academic year by December 31, 2025.
- Timely release of all fee reimbursement dues for the current academic year (2025-26) before March 31, 2026.
Blame on Government
College managements expressed deep regret for the inconvenience caused to students and parents but firmly placed the responsibility for this unprecedented crisis on the Telangana State Government. They stated that the strike is a last resort after exhausting all other avenues for dialogue.
All eyes are now on the Telangana government to respond urgently and prevent a complete shutdown of higher education for thousands of students in the state.
