The Telangana High Court on Thursday directed the state government to establish a robust grievance redressal mechanism to address complaints from students whose original academic certificates are being withheld by educational institutions due to non-payment of pending scholarships and fee reimbursements.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin issued the directive while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed on behalf of students from economically weaker sections who are unable to pursue higher education because of delays in the release of government scholarships. The court instructed the government to set up the mechanism before the next hearing and adjourned the matter for three weeks.
During the proceedings, Syed Mounis Abidi, counsel for the Association for Socio Economic Empowerment of the Marginalised and Students Islamic Organisation (ASEEM), a Hyderabad-based NGO, expressed concern over the finance department's failure to disclose details of funds released for scholarships. He also highlighted the absence of an effective system to address student grievances, despite previous court directions.
In response, Additional Advocate General Mohammed Imran Khan informed the bench that the state government had issued clear instructions to educational institutions not to retain students' original certificates on the ground that scholarship amounts were yet to be released. He stated, "The government's endeavor is to release scholarships, not only to students from minority communities but also to other students."
Khan further submitted that the higher education department, social welfare department, and minority welfare department should be impleaded as parties to the PIL, as many institutions were not responding at the ground level and these departments were not currently part of the proceedings. He added, "Impleading these departments in the PIL will result in furnishing all details of scholarships released to eligible students and expedite pending bills."
