Hyderabad, Fedruary 24: A thorough revamp of the tuition fee reimbursement scheme, which has become an albatross around the neck of the State Government, is in the offing to reduce the huge financial burden it is causing.
The Government has decided to streamline the process to reach out the scheme to genuine beneficiaries, but the changes would be introduced in a phased manner over the next fiscal.
It was with this plan in mind that the government earmarked Rs. 2,501 crore for scholarships and tuition fee reimbursement in the plan outlay for 2011-12 and another Rs. 498 crore under non-plan attracting heavy criticism from Opposition parties about the meagre outlay for the scheme which was introduced by the late YSR.
The government recently released Rs. 1,000 crore for the current fiscal against the estimated requirement of Rs. 3,281.43 crore.
The non-release of funds took the centre-stage since past few weeks with the political parties mounting pressure to release funds and former MP Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy sat on seven-day fast.
According to senior Finance Department officials, the scheme would be unmanageable if it was continued in the present “saturation mode” as the expenditure would continue to mount. Targeting the scheme properly would enable the Government to effectively serve the deserving while avoiding its misuse.
Online processing of applications from this year had already brought down the demand by 15 per cent and few more “modifications” are being contemplated to moderate the demand further.
Changes proposed
Senior officials told The Hindu that the government would gradually introduce criterion like age, certification of the courses, attendance norms and certain guidelines issued by the AICTE that would bring down the demand by 20 per cent more.
The officials said there was scope for release of some more funds before the end of the current fiscal.
Yet the balance (Rs. 2,281 crore) would spill over to next year.
“Once these measures are introduced, it will leave us with a deficit of about Rs. 1,000 crore. This sum will be manageable,” the official said.
-Agencies