YSRCP leaders held during tribal school protest in Visakhapatnam

Former Andhra Pradesh Deputy CM Pushpa Sreevani and ex-minister Balaraju of YSRCP were detained by police in Visakhapatnam while attempting to meet parents protesting the relocation of 480 tribal students from Marikavalasa Tribal Welfare Residential School, which is being converted into a Centre of Excellence.

Visakhapatnam:  Former Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pushpa Sreevani and former minister Balaraju of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) were detained by police on Tuesday while on their way to meet parents protesting the relocation of 480 tribal students from the Marikavalasa Tribal Welfare Residential School.

According to the YSRCP, the two leaders were stopped and taken into custody to prevent them from reaching the protest site at the Marikavalasa Tribal Gurukulam. Following an argument with police personnel, they were escorted away in a police vehicle.

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The dispute began after the Marikavalasa AP Tribal Welfare Residential Boys’ English Medium School was selected for conversion into a Centre of Excellence (CoE) offering specialised NEET and IIT coaching.

The school, functioning since 2004, had 480 students, including Class 10 pupils. The students were shifted midway through the academic year to residential institutions at Sabbavaram, Srikrishnapuram, Devarapalli, Parvathipuram and other places.

Parents opposed the relocation and sought continuation of the school at Marikavalasa. A resolution to this effect was reportedly adopted by the Parents Committee and communicated to the authorities. Despite the objections, officials went ahead with the relocation under police presence. Around 70 students had reportedly obtained Transfer Certificates amid uncertainty over the school’s future.

Students and parents subsequently staged protests, including at the ITDA office in Paderu, while talks with officials failed to resolve the issue.

Marikavalasa is among four Gurukulams being converted into CoEs involving private institutions. The others are at Meghadrigedda in Visakhapatnam, Tadikonda in Guntur and Kota in Nellore, together affecting nearly 2,000 students.

The YSRCP strongly condemned the TDP-led coalition government for displacing tribal students in the middle of the academic year and using police against those standing with their parents. The party said improving education cannot mean uprooting children from functioning Gurukulams against the wishes of their families.

It demanded that the government immediately reconsider the decision, allow the affected students to continue their education without disruption and disclose the terms under which the Gurukulams are being converted into CoEs involving private institutions.

Meanwhile, YSRCP spokesperson Konda Rajeev said that under the leadership of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, YSRCP stands firmly with the tribal students of Marikavalasa and will continue fighting for their rights and education.

He strongly condemned the manner in which police handled former Deputy Chief Minister and former Tribal Welfare Minister Pushpa Sreevani while she was supporting the agitating students and parents.

“Using the police machinery to suppress those questioning the government has become a disturbing pattern under the coalition government. The treatment meted out to Pushpa Sreevani is disgraceful and condemnable,” Rajeev said.

He demanded that the 20-year-old Marikavalasa Tribal Welfare Residential School, serving students from Class 5 to Intermediate, be continued at its existing location.

“If the government wants a new Centre of Excellence, it should construct one on alternative land instead of displacing tribal students from an established institution,” he said.

YSRCP will continue its fight until justice is delivered to the tribal students and their families, Rajeev asserted.