HC asks government for engineering college inspection details

Justice CV Nagarjuna Reddy of the AP High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to file a counter affidavit informing the court about the details of colleges inspected by the AFRC.

The judge was dealing with a petition filed by the Andhra Pradesh Private Engineering Colleges Management Association (APPECMA) and some other educational societies and individuals seeking suspension of GO 54, which they claimed was meant for inspection of ‘selective’ engineering colleges by regional and state level task force.

The petitioners had alleged that the GO was issued to show discrimination against those colleges which have not bowed down to government pressure and filed affidavits accepting a fee of Rs 35,000.

The petitioners’ counsel S Niranjan Reddy said that except for the Admission & Fee Regulatory Committee (AFRC), the government has no power to inspect the standards of the colleges. He alleged that the government has issued the GO with an intention of inspecting only those colleges which were pressing for higher fees.

After hearing the case, the judge said that the government cannot do inspections ‘selectively’. But he also asked the petitioners whether they had any difficulty if their colleges were inspected. The judge then adjourned the matter for further hearing after four weeks.