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Andhra Pradesh opens more technical colleges to stem brain

drain
The state opens more technical colleges to stem brain drain.

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12/03/2024, 18:29 Engineering a boom - India Today

Amarnath K Menon
ISSUE DATE: Aug 25, 1997 | UPDATED: May 13, 2013 12:53 IST

Malakonda Reddy and his new college

For a state that churns out over 20,000 engineering aspirants each year, Andhra Pradesh's 37
engineering colleges - compared to more than twice that number in each of the neighbouring
states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra - are just not enough it seems.
So to keep up with his neighbours, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu recently decided to open
up 54 of the state's 77 revenue divisions, which lack an engineering college, to private promoters.
"We want to put an end to the migration of human resources and funds to other states in a
phased manner," says Commissioner of Technical Education Rajiv Sharma.

The response has been overwhelming. Already, the Government has received 84 proposals and
with nearly 15 of them likely to get the approval of the All India Council of Technical Education
(AICTE) soon, the state hopes to add 4,000 seats to the existing capacity of 9,034 from this
academic year.
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But this increase is not enough. "We are lagging way behind. There's a need for about 15,000
seats, or 50 more colleges," says V. Malakonda Reddy, secretary of the state Engineering Colleges
Managements Association.

The revised norms of approval, applicable from this year, require, among other things, a fixed
deposit of Rs 50 lakh jointly in the name of the promoter and the AICTE's regional officer for a
period of 10 years; and land for the college to be registered in the name of the promoter.
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Restrictive norms apart, the promoters are unhappy with the state's requirement of allowing new
colleges only in some revenue divisions, most of which are underdeveloped. Not surprisingly,
many of the proposals are for colleges within a 100-km radius of Hyderabad. The state's
demands, however, are not binding as the AICTE does not place any restriction on the number of
colleges in a particular region.

The initial investment required to open an engineering college with an intake of 420 students in
seven courses is roughly Rs 8 crore. And private college economics have changed since the
Government restricted the fees for merit seats (50 per cent) to Rs 5,000 a year and "payment
seats" (45 per cent ) to Rs 35,000 a year. While this is barely enough to meet recurring expenses,
the higher fee of Rs 1.65 lakh for the 5 per cent NRI quota does not meet development costs
either.

And the promoters can't make money through capitation fees as all the admissions have to be
based on the state's Common Entrance Test. Says G. Pulla Reddy, a promoter who owns a chain
of sweet shops: "I don't have to start an engineering college to make money. More sweet shops
will do." For most promoters, running an engineering college seems to be a matter of prestige
and goodwill.
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