The notification issued by the Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education ("APSCHE" for short) dated 16.1.2013, inviting applications from registered educational societies/affiliated aided and un-aided degree colleges for starting new private unaided degree colleges (including Hotel Management Colleges), U.G. and P.G. Courses for the academic year 2013-14 in the State of Andhra Pradesh, for Madanapalli Mandal in Chittoor District; Kadiri Mandal in Anantapur District; and Huzurabad and Jagityal Mandals in Karimnagar District, is under challenge in this batch of writ petitions as being arbitrary, illegal, contrary to the provisions of the Andhra Pradesh Education Act, 1982 (hereinafter called the "Act"), the A.P. Educational Institutions (Establishment, Recognition, Administration and Control of Institutions of Higher Education) Rules, 1987 (hereinafter called the "Rules"), and in violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of India.

2. The petitioners are all unaided private degree colleges offering undergraduate courses, after having obtained permission from the APSCHE and on being granted affiliation by their respective Universities. It is their case that, after being satisfied with the standards of instructional and infrastructural facilities available at the petitioners-institutions, the affiliating Universities have been extending them affiliation each year; the APSCHE issued notification dated 16.1.2013, for the entire State of Andhra Pradesh, indicating the mandals in each district where new degree colleges were proposed to be established for the academic year 2013-14; the notification, in clear terms, specified that the proposal for starting a new degree college would be considered only where there are no degree colleges in the revenue mandals; contrary thereto, several mandals were notified even though degree colleges were in existence thereat; Section 20 of the Act, and Rule 4 of the Rules, mandate that, if the educational needs of the locality are adequately served, no permission should be granted; and the existing degree colleges, in the subject mandals, are struggling to survive as adequate number of students are not willing to join degree courses, and no college is able to fill up the seats upto the sanctioned strength. The affidavit gives details of the sanctioned and the admitted strength of various degree colleges in the mandals based on which the petitioners contend that the admitted strength is far in excess of the sanctioned strength, and the subject mandals do not require another degree college to be established thereat. The petitioners further contend that the APSCHE, without examining and identifying the educational needs of the locality and without considering the admissions made in the existing educational institutions, had issued the impugned notification; indiscriminate grant of permission for starting new degree colleges, even though there is no requirement for opening such colleges, would adversely affect the quality of the teaching staff, result in fall in standards in education, and kill the existing institutions; no survey, to assess the needs and demands of the locality, was conducted; the notification does not also specify the needs of the mandals; the decision to invite applications for establishing new colleges is vitiated by non-consideration of relevant factors; there was no assessment of the need of the locality by the APSCHE; increasing educational institutions, in such large numbers, would only result in deterioration in educational standards, leading to unhealthy competition among the institutions forcing them to admit less meritorious students; grant of approval, for establishing a new college, should depend on the seats remaining unfilled in a particular college located in a particular area; students cannot be deprived of their right to have quality education; grant of permission by the respondents would only result in large number of seats remaining vacant, besides lack of