Harish Rao seeks CM’s attention to education sector

In an open letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday, Harish Rao criticised him for prioritising political issues over public problems.

Hyderabad: Former Minister and senior BRS leader T Harish Rao condemned the State government’s neglect of the education sector in Telangana. Expressing deep concern over the future of students, particularly due to the absence of a dedicated Education Minister, he urged immediate action to improve school education and resolve these pressing issues.

In an open letter to Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Sunday, Harish Rao criticised him for prioritising political issues over public problems. He stated that the Congress government had done nothing new in its seven-month rule nor did it continue the initiatives of the previous BRS government. “Congress rule has become a bane for teachers, students, and government schools,” he said.

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He demanded the State government to address numerous issues plaguing the government schools including payment of pending wages to 54,201 cook-cum-helpers under the Mid-Day Meal scheme for seven months, along with pending bills pertaining to meals and eggs. He sought immediate recruitment for around 9,000 teaching vacancies in primary schools due to transfers of SGT (Secondary Grade Teachers). Other demands include implement free power supply to government schools, appointment of staff for school sanitation maintenance, provide two pairs of uniforms to students, and payment of salaries to Inclusive Education Resource Persons under Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan for last four months.

The former Minister recalled the efforts of former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, who took significant steps to strengthen government education from primary to higher levels. “Now, the Congress government is showing serious neglect,” he lamented, citing inadequate facilities, teacher shortages, delayed salaries, and unaddressed sanitary needs.

He wanted the State government to restart the ‘Chief Minister’s Breakfast’ programme, initiated by the previous BRS government to provide healthy food to students. He lashed out at the State government for providing broken rice to students under the Mid-Day Meals programmes as against fine rice provided by the BRS regime. He noted the failure to continue the ‘Mana Ooru-Mana Badi’ programme, which aimed to develop government schools

Harish Rao also raised concern over the deteriorating conditions in schools, due to lack of proper sanitation and unpaid electricity bills. “It is sad that the Congress government is not addressing the many problems surrounding the school education system,” he wrote.