A major financial scam involving bogus educational institutions siphoning off huge government money in the name of fee reimbursement,came to the fore here today. The scandal surfaced when the Cabinet Sub-Committee looking into the fee reimbursement issue realised that only 9,903 colleges out of the 12,309 registered their details online as part of the mandatory exercise initiated by the state government. "We believe that more than 2406 colleges that did not register online could be bogus," Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Minister Pilli Subhash Chandra Bose said. All these colleges drew the fee reimbursement amount from the state government in the last couple of years,since there was no check on them,he said. "We have now asked the Higher Education Department to conduct a detailed inquiry into the whole issue and establish the quantum of funds such fly-by-night institutions had swindled. We shall initiate criminal action against those found guilty of misappropriating government money," Bose said. Preliminary estimates by the government indicated that a sum of Rs 380 crore could have been siphoned off in the name of fee reimbursement,highly-placed sources said. The state government has been spending about Rs 3,000 crore towards reimbursement of tuition fee for students pursuing higher and professional education. With claims for fee reimbursement becoming one too many and allegations of funds misappropriation growing,the state government initiated measures like online registration of colleges and submission of notarised income certificate by students mandatory to plug loopholes. "The inquiry will establish how the scheme is being subverted by unscrupulous elements," the Social Welfare Minister said.
