Komatireddy Venkat Reddy vows to shut corporate colleges if given education portfolio

Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy sparked a cabinet flashpoint by stating he would shut down corporate colleges if given charge of education, blaming them for poor teaching standards and rising student suicides in the State

Nalgonda: Triggering a fresh flashpoint in the State Cabinet, Roads and Buildings Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy on Tuesday said he would shut down all corporate colleges in the State if he were given an opportunity to serve as Education Minister. The education portfolio is currently held by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy.

Addressing a gathering at a programme here, the Minister expressed concern over the increasing number of student suicides and came down heavily on the quality of education being imparted by corporate colleges.

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He said there were many experienced teachers and research scholars working in government schools, while people who were unable to secure even door service jobs were being recruited as lecturers in corporate colleges.

“If I get a chance to become Education Minister, I will shut down all the corporate colleges. Government teachers and headmasters should enrol their children in government schools,” Venkat Reddy said.

Recalling the challenges he faced during the earlier Congress regime, the R and B Minister said that former Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy, during his three years in office, had not sanctioned a single paisa to Nalgonda.

Stating that Nalgonda would undergo a metamorphosis over the next two years, the Minister said the town was upgraded as a Municipal Corporation even before an appeal was made, due to his personal intervention.

“Upgrading it as a corporation will enable us to get many funds from the Central government directly. I can get Rs.1,000 crore to Rs.2,000 crore with my influence at the Centre,” he added.