The state government has refused to halt the ongoing inspection of engineering colleges by task forces to verify the academic standards, infrastructure and faculty of the colleges.
The managements of some engineering colleges met Deputy Chief Minister Damodar Raja Narasimha on Wednesday with a request to stop the inspections temporarily.
However, he refused to oblige, saying that there is no going back since the managements have sought a fee hike based on their enhanced academic standards.
The inspection teams will examine whether the colleges’ claims on infrastructure and faculty among other things are correct. The Admissions and Fee Regulatory Committee will recommend the fee structure accordingly for next year.
There were allegati-ons that some colleges had offered a bribe of `2 crore to Mr Nara-simha to halt inspections. However, Mr Narasimha denied it and blamed some Telugu news channels for spreading “rumours”.
“It is true that some college managements approached me with a request to halt inspections. Some TV channels started flashing news quoting me that the managements offered me a bribe of `2 crore to halt inspections. It is totally baseless. I strongly condemn these reports,” Mr Narasimha told this newspaper.
He made it clear that the second phase of inspections have al-ready started and will continue as scheduled.
“Maintaining standards in engineering colleges is the utmost priority of the government. We will not compromise on this issue. The inspection reports will be submitted to the AP High Court and the AFRC,” he said.