It is with a deep sense of sadness that I read the news article about the Private Engineering colleges deciding to go on strike from May 26th. But then, something like this was very much on the cards. The Government of Andhra Pradesh has painted itself into a corner and has itself to blame for the sorry state of affairs. I am specifically referring to its inability to release the funds it owes the private engineering colleges since August 2009.

It was with a great deal of fanfare that the Government announced that it would pay for the engineering and pharmacy seats of all students who came from families with annual income less than Rs. 1 lakh per annum. While the scheme smacks of some juvenile wisdom and hackneyed foresight, it had the desired political outcome. The problem started when the promise had to be kept. The state governments coffers were already depleted with several other populist schemes. There was just no money left. And so the fees could not be payed to the colleges and to date, it owed them close to Rs. 1200 crores.

Several private colleges reeled under the financial burden, unable to pay their faculty salaries for months at end. Developmental programs and expansion programs for colleges had to be put on hold due to paucity of funds. The management had to dig deep into their resources to even meet the daily running expenses and several of their faculty were either threatening to go on strike or were already on strike. It is true that the management of several colleges openly make it obvious that they are in the business only for the money. But a vast majority also intended to give quality education in return and they were indeed hard hit when the government could not reimburse the fees.

To the last information, the government has initiated talks with the owners by asking the chairman of APSCHE Prof. K.C. Reddy to talk on its behalf. But the government has already announced that it would not be able to release the entire payment while the owners have countered by saying they will settle for nothing but the whole amount.

Caught in between are the students. The practical exams and end-semester exams commence from May 27th. So the timing of strike was definitely not arbitrarily selected. It was timed for maximum impact. Just when the student community was beginning to get over the telangana agitations and looking forward to closing the semester without further obstacles surfacing, this new threat has loomed.

I would squarely blame the government for any negative outcome of this move. It is time hare brained politicians stopped frequently shooting their mouths off and then exhibiting their familiar foot-in-the-mouth tendencies with their inability to keep their promises.

If a fine could be levied on the politicians for breaking promises, I think the fund thus collected could easily sponsor the required fee reimbursement.