Hyderabad: The Telangana Human Rights Commission (TGHRC) on Monday, August 17, asked the Telangana Council of Higher Education (TCHE) to strictly enforce admission guidelines for Category-B (Management/NRI) seats in engineering colleges to ensure transparency and equal opportunity to all eligible students.

The Commission, headed by Dr Justice Shameem Akther, passed the order on a complaint filed by Paladugu Srinivas of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Osmania University students. He had alleged irregularities in the Category-B admission process for the academic year 2021–2022 in St Martin’s Engineering College, Dhulapally, and Vardhaman College of Engineering, Shamshabad.

The JAC’s complaint said that eligible students were not being provided a proper opportunity to submit applications, despite notifications being issued, and that the prescribed admission procedure was not followed.

The Secretary of Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) submitted a report stating both colleges had issued notifications on September 18, 2021, in three newspapers and completed admissions in accordance with the guidelines and schedule. The complainant, however, contended against the report and submitted documents.

The Commission noted that the complainant’s allegations were serious and that, if true, there would be a discrepancy between the notified admission procedure and its actual implementation, potentially affecting the legitimate educational opportunities of eligible and meritorious students.

Subsequently, the Commission recommended that TSCHE strictly enforce the guidelines for Category-B admissions, ensure no arbitrary or unauthorised procedures are adopted, and safeguard transparency, fairness and equal opportunity for all eligible candidates.

A copy of the order and complaint was directed to be sent to the Secretary of TSCHE for necessary action.