Telangana: R S Praveen Kumar questions Congress over deteriorating condition of education sector

Addressing a news conference at Telangana Bhavan, Praveen Kumar pointed out that the Congress government had failed to appoint an Education Minister in the last nine months, despite the fact that the education sector with over 62 lakh students in schools and nearly 32 lakh of them studying in over 10,000 private schools

Hyderabad: Highlighting the financial and administrative issues that impacted the studies of students as well as the functioning of educational institutions as a whole in the State, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former IPS officer RS Praveen Kumar on Friday launched a scathing attack on the Congress government, holding its mismanagement solely responsible for the deteriorating condition of the education sector.

Addressing a news conference at Telangana Bhavan, Praveen Kumar pointed out that the Congress government had failed to appoint an Education Minister in the last nine months, despite the fact that the education sector with over 62 lakh students in schools and nearly 32 lakh of them studying in over 10,000 private schools.

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He emphasized the increasing pressure on private educational institutions because of the neglect of government schools. Approximately 12.5 lakh students are waiting for scholarships, with the academic year already two months in. The government owed Rs.5900 crore towards fee reimbursement dues till 2023-24 and this could rise to Rs.8350 crore if current year dues are included.

This financial strain has affected students as well as the educational institutions. The mounting dues had put higher educational institutions in a difficult position.

Over 5 lakh students are joining higher educational institutions every year. The BRS leader warned that his party would not remain silent if the government continued to neglect the needs of the student community and educational institutions.

Praveen Kumar questioned Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s commitment to addressing these issues, particularly the fee reimbursement problem.He urged the government to release a clear schedule for clearing the dues and to avoid repeating the mistakes made with his government’s job calendar, which proved to be a farcical exercise.

He criticized the Congress party for failing to fulfill its election promise of providing Rs 5 lakh for each student under the Vidyarthi Bharosa scheme. He demanded an explanation from Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka on this count.

“The Chief Minister had announced the integrated international schools for every mandal. I do not know whether he had any idea of what they would be like,” he said, adding that the Chief Minister did not spell out what syllabus the new schools would be following.

With all fanfare, the Chief Minister had laid the foundation stone for such an institution in his Kodangal constituency. But did he sanction any budget for setting up such an institution, he asked.

The fate of Gurukul institutions, which were expanded from 250 to over 1000 during the ten-year BRS rule under former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, was also a point of concern. Praveen Kumar questioned the Congress government’s plans for these institutions, which were facing a plethora of issues.