AISF alleges irregularities in PhD admissions to Andhra Pradesh universities, seeks probe

They accuse the in-charge chairmen of APSCHE and CETS respectively of violating the Andhra Pradesh Universities Act, which mandates allocation of 85% of seats to local students and 15% to others

Leaders of the Andhra Pradesh committee of All India Student Federation (AISF) on November 1 (Friday) alleged gross irregularities in admissions for PhD courses to the State universities through the Research Common Entrance Test (RCET) and demanded a comprehensive probe to ensure justice to the meritorious students.

Addressing a press conference in Vijayawada, AISF State general secretary K. Shiva Reddy and treasurer M. Sai Kumar said that the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) had notified 2,200 seats, including part-time and full-time PhD courses, but 220 seats under the purview of Andhra University had been left vacant. They demanded APSCHE officials explain why these seats had not been filled with eligible candidates.

They claimed that the candidates Mohan and Siva Swetha, who secured first and 10th ranks respectively in the RCET, were denied admission in the name of reservation, while those who obtained lower ranks were admitted to the course.

They accused APSCHE in-charge chairman and CETS in-charge chairman (admissions) of violating the Andhra Pradesh Universities Act, which mandates allocation of 85% of the seats to local students and 15% of the seats to others.

AISF leaders urged Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Nara Lokesh to initiate immediate steps for reconstructing the State Council of Higher Education and appoint a regular chairman, vice-chairman and convenor of the CETs for effective functioning of the body.

They warned that if the government fails to heed their appeal, they would resort to State-wide protests on the issue. The federation’s Vijayawada city unit president Ranjit, secretary Jagadeesh and treasurer Suresh, Krishna district secretary Sadik and others were present.

Published - November 01, 2024 08:20 pm IST