Growing Burden of Engg Education

In the absence of a fixed fee structure, private professional colleges, especially those offering computer engineering courses, have been increasing fees by 20 per cent to 30 per cent each year

- MEGHNA NATH @ Hyderabad

Tuition fees for engineering courses, especially in computer science, have become a growing burden on parents in Telangana. Private professional colleges have been increasing fees by 20-30 per cent each year, and 2025 is no exception.

This trend has heightened concerns about the commercialisation of education. Parents said even lesser-known colleges have hiked fees, particularly for computer science and allied streams such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, semiconductor design and robotics.

Leading private institutions, including CBIT, VNR Vignana Jyothi, Vasavi, MGIT and Narayana, are charging between ₹1.65 lakh and ₹3 lakh per year for computer science courses, compared to government-funded universities like Osmania and JNTUH, where fees for B.Tech programmes range from ₹1.5 lakh to about ₹3 lakh for the entire course.

Despite the lower costs in government institutions, many students still prefer private colleges, citing poor infrastructure and inadequate teaching staff in government institutions.

Parents' concerns Parents said the lack of a finalised fee structure has added to the confusion this year. "My daughter secured a seat in a reputed private college through TGEAPCET, but apart from the official tuition fee of ₹1.5 lakh annually, we had to pay miscellaneous charges. In total, it came to around ₹15 lakh in the first year," said a parent.