Come out of self-praise mode, revive education sector: Uttam tells CM

Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (tpcc) President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy advised Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao to come out of self-praise mode and take immediate measures to protect the education sector from further erosion in the State.

Addressing a public meeting at the conclusion of 120 km long padayatra organised by National Students Union of India (NSUI) to highlight the poor state of SC, ST, BC and minorities hostels in Telangana State, Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the TRS Government has set a destructive mechanism in motion to completely wipe out the public education system from the State. He said that all universities in the State lack faculty, teaching and non-teaching staff, basic infrastructure and other facilities. Lakhs of seats in engineering, pharma, MCA, MBA and other professional courses have been lost during the last three years. "Instead of holding a review on shortfalls in educational institutions, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao and his team are busy patting their own backs for illusionary achievements. KCR, who came to power on the promise of KG to PG free education, has created utter chaos in the entire education sector," he alleged.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said students had very high hopes with the formation of Telangana State. But KCR shattered their dreams, one after the other, using tools of deception, cheating and falsehood. "The vacancies in various universities and government colleges were not filled and they were made to starve for funds during the last three years. No attention was paid on maintenance and improvement in the conditions of hostels. Consequently, poor SC, ST, BC and minorities students were forced to live in inhuman conditions. Similarly, poor students were put to misery by not releasing the Fee Reimbursement dues to private colleges. By doing so, KCR forced closure of hundreds of private colleges. Lakhs of students lost their academic years due to delay in clearing Fee Reimbursement dues. Scholarships were denied to lakhs of students for various reasons," he said.

The TPCC chief ridiculed the Chief Minister for his claims on Telangana being among the top States in higher education. "If this is true, let KCR visit any university or college in the State  to check the real conditions by himself," he challenged the Chief Minister. He said there was a huge mismatch between the TRS Government's claims and the actual position in education sector. He asked KCR to explain as to why a revenue surplus State with an annual budget of Rs. 1.43 lakh crore had no money to clear Fee Reimbursement dues and scholarships. He said while the TRS Government is boasting of starting over 500 residential schools, it is silent on closure of over 4,000 government schools across the State. Lakhs of poor students have no access to primary education today, he said.

Speaking about the Osmania University, Uttam Kumar Reddy strongly condemned TRS Government for its 'draconian' orders on forced eviction of students. All the students, who are now being branded as “over-stayers”, have actively participated in Telangana movement. Many of them risked their careers to achieve statehood. However, he said forced eviction from hostels is KCR's way of expressing gratitude to students who made sacrifices for Telangana. "By undertaking forced eviction drive in Osmania University, KCR is trying to send a message to all students across the State that they would be thrown out of their institutions if they raise voice against TRS Government," he said.

Uttam Kumar Reddy advised KCR not to under-estimate the power of students and youth. "When students could achieve changes in geographical boundaries of a State, then they also have the capacity to throw out a dictatorial leader out of power. The existing anger and disappointment among students and youth towards TRS Government clearly indicates that it would lose power in next elections," he said.

The TPCC chief also asked KCR to give explanation on low job creation in Telangana State. He said as against the promise of giving one job for every household, TRS Government failed to even fill existing vacancies in various government departments. He said no new jobs were created in the private sector and wrong policies of both BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre and TRS Government in the State led to loss of lakh of jobs in almost all sectors during the last three years. He said that the unemployed youth and harassed students would dethrone the TRS Government in 2019 elections.

Stating that the Congress party was all set to return to power in 2019 elections, Uttam Kumar Reddy reiterated the promise that next Congress Government would revive and strengthen the education sector in the State. He also promised that lakhs of new jobs would be created and the unemployed youth would be paid a monthly allowance of Rs. 3,000 till they get a regular job.

The meeting was also addressed by TPCC Working President Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka, NSUI National President Feroz Khan, NSUI Telangana President B. Venkat and other senior leaders.