Students pursuing professional courses under the jurisdiction of JNTU-Hyderabad can directly approach the ombudsman and grievance redressal committee to lodge complaints against the university or their college with regard to any disputes such as denial of admission, collection of donation, excess fee, withholding certificates etc.

JNTU-H has become the first university in the state to have an ombudsman and grievance redressal committee as directed by the All India Council for Technical Education.

JNTU-H is one of the largest technology universities in India, with nearly 460 engineering, pharmacy, MBA and MCA colleges
under it, mostly located in and around Hyderabad.

With the mushrooming of technical institutions during the last one decade, the enrolment of students in these courses has also shot up significantly.

There is a corresponding increase in disputes between the students and colleges, with the manage
ments often resorting to unfair practices. There was no mechanism to address the students’ grievances hitherto. “The ombudsman has powers to accept any complaint right from denial of admission to discrimination in evaluation,” said a JNTU-H official.

Prof. B.C. Jinaga, former rector of JNTU-H, has been appointed ombudsman. He will also be the chairman of
the five-member grievance redressal committee.

The most common problems that students have are withholding of their original certificates by the management, and having to pay the total course fee if they drop out in the middle of the course. The UGC and AICTE norms clearly stipulate that managements must hand over the original certificates to students.