The on-going strike by nearly 6,800 private colleges in the state has forced Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao to postpone the Telangana State Engineering, Medical and Agriculture Entrance Tests (TS EAMCET) late on Thursday evening.

According to a source, EAMCET is likely to be held before May 20.

The private colleges in Telangana have been on a strike to protest the government’s decision to inspect 6,843 colleges by officials from the anti-corruption bureau, police and intelligence officers, CID among other department’s officials. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) constituted by the private colleges had demanded that inspections must be held only by the concerned department officials.

JAC had threatened that this issue may snowball, and colleges may not cooperate with the government in holding the TS EAMCET, among several other entrance examinations in the state. The Chief Minister took charge of the situation at the eleventh hour and postponed the examination. In a press release, the CM said the entrance examinations will be conducted in government-run educational institutions under the supervision of government teachers.

He stated that the private colleges’ objection was unreasonable and that they cannot hold the state and the future of students to ransom saying they will not allow their premises to be used to hold these exams. Rao said that the institutions were taking students and parents for a ride.

Despite the strike called by the private educational institutions, the CM maintained that the inspections will be held under the aegis of the vigilance teams. He further added that if required, even institutions such as BITS, IIT will be inspected.

The CM has instructed Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Kadiyam Srihari to take strict action against the errant institutions. The inspections in all private educational institutions are likely to begin from next week onwards.

Meanwhile, the private institutions in the state plan to continue their strike as they demand the government to immediately roll back their decision. “We have been betrayed by the government. Srihari had earlier assured us that police will be kept out of the inspections. But if the government will crack the whip on us, we will further intensify our struggle,” said a member of the JAC.