Andhra Pradesh Scraps 15% Quota For Non-Local Students In Colleges; Here's What It Means

The Andhra Pradesh government has announced that, from now on, all seats in its professional, degree and postgraduate colleges will be reserved for students from Andhra Pradesh alone. This ends the ten-year rule that set aside 15 per cent of places for students from Telangana and other states.

What Does This Mean?

The previous 15 per cent quota for non-local students was part of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. This rule allowed both government and private colleges in AP to admit students in an 85:15 ratio (local:non-local) for a 10-year period starting June 2014. With that timeframe now over, the state has decided to revise the admission policy to prioritise Andhra Pradesh students, as cited in HT report.

The decision follows recommendations from the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education, which urged the government to safeguard opportunities for local students in fields like engineering, pharmacy, law, education, architecture, business administration, and more.

What’s Changed?

Under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, colleges had to admit students on an 85:15 basis: 85 per cent for “local” students and 15 per cent for “non-locals” (those from Telangana or elsewhere). That rule ran from June 2014 until now.

The state’s Higher Education Council recommended that Andhra Pradesh students should no longer face competition from outsiders for these reserved places.

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How will admissions now work?

1. Within the Andhra University (AU) region

- 100 per cent of seats go to students who have either studied there for at least four years or lived there continuously for four years before taking their qualifying exam.

2. Within the Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) region

- Similarly, every seat is now for SVU-region students who meet the same four-year study or residence rule.

3. State-wide universities (for example, Sri

- Padmavathi Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam, Dravidian University, Dr Abdul Haq Urdu University, Dr YSR Architecture & Fine Arts University, Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies and the Silver Jubilee Government College)

Admissions are split between the AU and SVU regions in the ratio of 65.62 per cent to 34.38 per cent, all for “local” students of those areas.

- There is no longer a separate non-local quota: everyone admitted comes from these two regions, based purely on their exam scores.

- A “local” student is defined as someone who has studied in a college in that area for at least four consecutive years, or who has lived there for four years immediately before their qualifying exam.

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This move follows a similar change in Telangana earlier this year (February 27, 2025), where their government also removed the 15 per cent non-local quota. In Telangana’s new system, 85 per cent of seats at Osmania University are for local students, 5 per cent for Telangana natives living abroad for ten years or more, and 10 per cent for certain groups such as children of government employees.

In Andhra Pradesh, however, the 15 per cent non-local category has been dropped altogether, meaning all college places are now open only to the state’s own students.

The Andhra Pradesh government has announced that, from now on, all seats in its professional, degree and postgraduate colleges will be reserved for students from Andhra Pradesh alone. This ends the ten-year rule that set aside 15 per cent of places for students from Telangana and other states.
What Does This Mean?
The previous 15 per cent  quota for non-local students was part of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014. This rule allowed both government and private colleges in AP to admit students in an 85:15 ratio (local:non-local) for a 10-year period starting June 2014. With that timeframe now over, the state has decided to revise the admission policy to prioritise Andhra Pradesh students.
The decision follows recommendations from the Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education, which urged the government to safeguard opportunities for local students in fields like engineering, pharmacy, law, education, architecture, business administration, and more.
What’s changed?
Under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, colleges had to admit students on an 85:15 basis: 85 per cent for “local” students and 15 per cent for “non-locals” (those from Telangana or elsewhere). That rule ran from June 2014 until now.
The state’s Higher Education Council recommended that Andhra Pradesh students should no longer face competition from outsiders for these reserved places.
How will admissions now work?
1. Within the Andhra University (AU) region
- 100 per cent of seats go to students who have either studied there for at least four years or lived there continuously for four years before taking their qualifying exam.
2. Within the Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) region
- Similarly, every seat is now for SVU-region students who meet the same four-year study or residence rule.
3. State-wide universities (for example, Sri 
- Padmavathi Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam, Dravidian University, Dr Abdul Haq Urdu University, Dr YSR Architecture & Fine Arts University, Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies and the Silver Jubilee Government College)
Admissions are split between the AU and SVU regions in the ratio of 65.62 per cent to 34.38 per cent, all for “local” students of those areas.
- There is no longer a separate non-local quota: everyone admitted comes from these two regions, based purely on their exam scores.
- A “local” student is defined as someone who has studied in a college in that area for at least four consecutive years, or who has lived there for four years immediately before their qualifying exam.
This move follows a similar change in Telangana earlier this year (February 27, 2025), where their government also removed the 15 per cent non-local quota. In Telangana’s new system, 85 per cent of seats at Osmania University are for local students, 5 per cent for Telangana natives living abroad for ten years or more, and 10 per cent for certain groups such as children of government employees.
In Andhra Pradesh, however, the 15 per cent non-local category has been dropped altogether, meaning all college places are now open only to the state’s own students.