70 Engineering colleges to shut down in Telangana

Hyderabad: Around 60 to 70 private engineering colleges in the state may soon shut down. These are among the 174 engineering colleges that were denied affiliation by the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) Hyderabad just before Eamcet counselling.

They are the same colleges who went to court against the JNTU-H move. Experts from BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, IIT Hyderabad, Osmania University and polytechnic colleges are inspecting 164 of the 174 colleges. 
 
Ten colleges closed down on their own. Sources said that many colleges even denied entry to the experts who came for inspections while some colleges borrowed teachers from other institutions to show during inspections. 
 
The inspection reports are being consolidated by JNTU-H. The Supreme Court had set December 31 as deadline for the completion of inspections. Following Supreme Court directions experts from IIT Hyderabad, BITS Pilani Hyderabad campus, Osmania University and polytechnic colleges were roped in for conducting inspections. JNTU faculty didn’t take part in the inspections. 
 
Sources said that about 60 to 70 colleges have declared their willingness to shut down. These colleges have even approached the government asking for the transfer of the students they admitted in the special phase of Eamcet counselling permitted by SC. 
 
Many colleges didn’t permit the expert teams to enter their campuses for checks.

“Many colleges didn’t allow the inspection teams to enter and shut their gates when they reached the campus. We also found that some colleges borrowed teachers from others,” sources said. 
 
However, JNTU-H would also have to show to the Supreme Court how the affiliation of these colleges were renewed last year while it was refused this year.