BRS Gurukula Bata from Nov 30 to evaluate conditions at government schools

The programme will be conducted from Nov 30 to Dec 7, focusing on inspecting Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs), model schools, government residential schools, SC, ST, and BC hostels, and colleges

Hyderabad: Amid rising concerns over the spate of student deaths and food poisoning incidents in Gurukuls and government educational institutions across Telangana, the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has announced a statewide programme titled “Gurukula Bata”. The programme will be conducted from November 30 to December 7, focusing on inspecting Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs), model schools, government residential schools, SC, ST, and BC hostels, and colleges.

The initiative, led by BRS working president KT Rama Rao, aims to evaluate the prevailing conditions in these institutions and make recommendations to the State government to address systemic issues affecting students’ safety and well-being.

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A five-member committee, headed by former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar, who headed residential welfare educational institutions in the State for a long time, has been formed to lead the initiative. The committee includes Dr Anjaneyulu Goud, Errolla Srinivas, Rajaram Yadav and Vasudeva Reddy. Women leaders will visit girls’ institutions to take stock of the situation.

Speaking on the issue, Rama Rao criticised the Congress government, holding it responsible for its criminal negligence in addressing the needs of students. He expressed grief over the reported deaths of 48 students within the last one year due to various causes, including suicides, illnesses, and food poisoning, with 886 students getting hospitalised following food poisoning alone. He said while four students died due to food poisoning, 13 others died after falling sick at the educational institutions and the others died by suicide.

The BRS working president said due to his lack of experience in administration, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy did not give adequate attention to the critical education sector. He questioned what stopped the Chief Minister from conducting a review meeting and initiating corrective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. “If the government had acted after the first incident, many lives could have been saved. This callousness is a curse on Telangana’s students,” he said.

He felt that neglecting SC, ST, and BC students’ education appeared to be a deliberate attempt to derail their progress. He warned the government against dismissing these concerns. “This government will have to answer for its failures,” he asserted, adding that the field visits were only meant to make suggestions to the government, but not to politicise the issue.

The Gurukula Bata programme will involve extensive field visits by party leaders and women representatives to interact with students and parents, document issues, and to prepare a detailed report. he findings would be presented to the State government, besides raising them in the upcoming Assembly session, to mount pressure on the government to take corrective steps.