15-05-2025
Andhra Pradesh govt. scraps 15% quota for non-locals in higher education institutions
The Andhra Pradesh government has ended a policy that had been in place for over 10 years, under which 15% of seats in the State's professional, undergraduate, and postgraduate colleges were reserved for students from Telangana and other States.
The decision is attributed to Section-95 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, which says that the existing admission quotas in all government and private institutions, whether aided or unaided, for higher and technical education, will continue for a period of 10 years from the appointed day of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh during which the existing common admission process will continue.
Now that the period of 10 years since bifurcation of the State has been completed (on June 2, 2024), Secretary of the AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE), in a report submitted to the government, called for attention to the issue and appropriate measures to protect the interests of students hailing from the State.
Responding to representations from the parents and students and also to avoid legal complications in the admission process, the government decided to issue amendments to the admission rules of professional and other courses.
Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Kona Sasidhar said these amendments, as a temporary measure, would come into force with immediate effect for taking up admissions for the academic year 2025-26 only to courses of Under Graduate, Post Graduate and Ph.D. courses (Regular/Lateral entry), (Engineering, Technology, Pharmacy, Architecture, Pharm. D, Business Administration, Computer Applications, Law Education and Physical Education).
He said necessary measures were being taken to make immediate amendments to the Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions) Order, 1974.
A GO issued to this effect implied that henceforth, all seats in higher education and technical education colleges would be reserved for students of Andhra Pradesh only. The Telangana government had made similar change earlier this year on February 27, 2025 by scrapping the 15% non-local quota in its higher educational institutions.
