CM Revanth Reddy’s statement sparks backlash from engineering students

Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy's remarks questioning the competence of engineering graduates have drawn criticism from students, ABVP leaders and faculty. They urged the government to improve engineering education instead of making sweeping comments that hurt students' morale

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy’s statement, questioning the competence of engineering students even in writing a job application, has triggered a backlash from the student community in the State.

Students who opposed the statement said instead of making such sweeping comments, the Chief Minister, who also holds Education portfolio, should focus on fixing issues in the education system.

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Interacting with participants of Finland and Germany Teacher Exposure visit and educational exchange programme here, Revanth Reddy had said every year, 1.10 lakh engineering students graduate from different colleges. “Give them a blank sheet of paper and ask them to write a job application. This is a criminal waste,” he had said.

Countering the Chief Minister’s statement, JNTU-Hyderabad Kukatpally BTech CSE third year student Durga Prasad said he himself personally wrote 10 to 15 letters regarding fee reimbursement delay and several other issues affecting the University students. “So far, there is no response. Instead of making statements, the Chief Minister should focus on addressing issues in engineering education,” he said.

JNTU-Hyderabad Kukatpally Mechanical Engineering research scholar J Dileep argued the inability of an individual in the Kodangal constituency to write a job application should not be used to judge all engineering students and graduates.

“If engineering students lack skills, the Chief Minister should release a white paper identifying the colleges producing such students. Instead of taking responsibility for improving the quality of engineering education, he made remarks that hurt the self-respect of students,” he said.

Dileep pointed out that earlier as a leader in the opposition, the Chief Minister had filed several RTI applications and petitions in the High Court, and questioned whether he had personally drafted them or had taken assistance.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) general secretary Macharla Ramabu challenged Revanth Reddy to fill up his own election affidavit without assistance from his legal team or at least write full form of MLA or CM.

“Hyderabad has emerged as the country’s second-largest IT exporter and a major hub for start-ups. This growth is being driven by the engineering graduates from various engineering colleges in the State. The Chief Minister should desist from making such sweeping remarks about engineering students,” he added.

This statement did not go down well with engineering professors too, who said that several students were being handed over multiple job offers even before completing their programme.