Hyderabad – For over 30 years, governments in the Telugu States have focused too much on engineering education, often ignoring other important fields like basic sciences, humanities, and social sciences. This narrow focus has created an imbalance in higher education and is now under serious criticism.
Many experts say it’s time for the Telangana government to rethink its policies. They argue that the current system favors engineering at the cost of diversity in education and career opportunities. Worse, engineering education has become a commercial industry where donations, capitation fees, and unethical practices are common.
A former engineering faculty member from Ranga Reddy district revealed that many private, unaided colleges frequently break rules set by the state and education regulators. In-demand courses like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Machine Learning (ML), and Robotics are being sold under the management quota for ₹6 to ₹15 lakh per seat.
Srinivas Reddy, an assistant professor in Medchal, said these colleges take advantage of parents’ hopes. “Parents want the best for their children. Colleges use this emotion to charge huge fees for popular courses,” he explained.
Top engineering institutions in and around Hyderabad charge even more. For new-age courses in about 25 to 30 top colleges, fees can go up to ₹20 lakh. These fees are justified by the colleges due to their strong placement records, but many still fail to pay faculty on time.
Some colleges also withhold students’ original certificates, blaming the government for delays in fee reimbursement. This leaves students stuck, unable to move forward with higher studies or jobs.
The problems don’t stop there. Several colleges inflate their accreditation scores, submit fake data, and manipulate their ratings to attract more students. This has turned parts of the engineering education sector into a donation-driven racket.
However, not everyone blames only the colleges. Professor N Sridhar (name changed) from an autonomous engineering college in Ranga Reddy said the state government and universities need to take responsibility too. “We need to build interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary pathways that connect different subjects,” he said.
He believes that students from non-engineering backgrounds should also be allowed to study high-demand subjects like AI, ML, and Data Sciences. Institutions like the IITs, NITs, and central universities already offer such programs, blending science, engineering, management, and even humanities.
By breaking down the rigid separation between disciplines, more students can access modern, in-demand careers. This would help shift the focus from outdated policies and allow education in Telangana to evolve in line with global trends.
