Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy must intervene to settle the long-pending reimbursement of tuition fees issue to thousands of poor students in the State, demanded president of National BC Welfare Association R. Krishnaiah.

The pending dues for 14 lakh students are about ₹4,000 crore, but the government has been citing budgetary constraints to resolve the important issue, he said. However, on the other hand, many contractors — both big and small — continue to get their dues, Mr. Krishnaiah alleged, suspecting that the government may be conspiring to dilute an effective scheme.

Noting the effects of pending fee reimbursement and demand from students, he said that Kakatiya University examinations have been postponed twice. Even students at Mahatma Gandhi University have declared an indefinite postponement, and likewise students at Satavahana and Palamuru universities.

But the effects are worse if students are unable to complete their exams or if their academic year goes waste for want of reimbursement of tuition fee. Measures should be taken so that no student misses examinations for the same reason, he suggested.

According to Mr. Krishnaiah, political parties and people representatives, who did not raise their voice against RTF, appear to have lost their social consciousness and responsibility. The hardships of students are many: they are not allowed to attend classes or issued exam hall tickets. In effect, the students are losing their academic year. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy must intervene and resolve the pendency, he demanded.