The Telangana Board of Intermediate Education has rejected allegations that 156 junior colleges were denied affiliation, saying 3,241 institutions received formal admission permissions for the current academic year and that regulatory action was driven by documentation and student-safety concerns.
The Board issued the clarification on Sunday, a day after the Telangana Private Junior Colleges Management Association alleged that the Board had not granted affiliation to 156 colleges. In a fact sheet, the Board termed the allegations baseless and said the number of colleges with formal admission permission was lower than the 3,349 institutions affiliated in 2025-26 because some cases remained under evaluation or had no new enrolments.
According to the Board, 12 colleges were being evaluated for shifting premises or completing documentation. It said these institutions would receive affiliation and access to the special admission module after meeting the required compliance conditions. The special admission module is used for processing admissions, making access to it significant for colleges seeking to enrol students formally.
The Board also said 27 colleges had voluntarily applied for ‘NIL’ admissions after recording zero student enrolments. It added that affiliation could not legally be granted to an institution without student enrolments in its first year. The clarification places the dispute within a wider administrative process involving premises, documentation, admissions and institutional compliance.
Student safety was a central part of the Board’s response. It said inspections had found 65 colleges that had submitted fake fire safety no-objection certificates. The Board said action was taken after repeated reminders and opportunities had been provided to the institutions to rectify deficiencies. It did not specify in the fact sheet the individual penalties imposed on each of the 65 colleges.
The Board also rejected allegations that it was favouring corporate institutions. It said penalties exceeding Rs 4 crore had been imposed on corporate colleges between July and October for various regulatory violations. “Student safety and educational integrity were non-negotiable,” the Board said in its release, describing inspections and task force operations as routine administrative procedures to verify infrastructure and institutional standards.
To address administrative concerns, the Board said it had constituted a high-level compliance committee to streamline processes and help college managements meet statutory requirements. It was also considering publishing institutional shortfalls on its website, a step that could give students and parents clearer information about the compliance status of colleges.
The Board urged college managements to comply with statutory norms and fire-safety standards. The immediate next steps are the completion of evaluations for the 12 colleges, the processing of eligible affiliation permissions and the committee’s work on improving compliance procedures and transparency.
