Andhra Pradesh Government Revises Admission Policies for Higher Education

Significant Policy Change in Higher Education Admissions

The Andhra Pradesh government has implemented a major policy shift by amending its admission regulations for higher educational institutions, effectively abolishing the existing 15% non-local quota. Starting from the academic year 2025-26, admissions to various professional courses will be exclusively reserved for students from Andhra Pradesh. This decision will prevent students from other states, including Telangana, from gaining entry under the non-local category.

According to the new government directives, admissions to courses such as engineering, technology, pharmacy, architecture, Pharma D, business administration, computer applications, law, education, and physical education will now be allocated solely to those who qualify as local residents of Andhra Pradesh. However, specific categories, such as children of central government employees, will still be considered under special provisions.

Details of the Government Order

The government order emphasizes the need to safeguard the interests of students from Andhra Pradesh in the admission process for undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD programs. It notes that the southern state had followed a common admission procedure, which included granting admissions to students from Telangana under the non-local quota for ten years following the bifurcation of unified Andhra Pradesh. However, this common admission period for all government, private, aided, and unaided higher and technical educational institutions will conclude on June 2, 2024. Therefore, it has become necessary to revise the admission rules for several courses.

In response to numerous representations from parents and students seeking fairness in admissions and to avoid legal complexities in the admission process, the government decided to issue amendments to the admission rules. The order specifies that students from the former districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, and Prakasam fall under the jurisdiction of Andhra University (AU) and are considered non-local candidates by SV University. Similarly, students from the former districts of Anantapur, Kurnool, Chittoor, Kadapa, and Nellore are under the jurisdiction of SV University and will be regarded as non-local candidates by Andhra University.