HYDERABAD: The Government Order, issued to provide free transport facility, under the Right to Education Act, 2009, to school-going children in habitations which have no government schools, has attracted severe criticism from the Telugu Desam.
The reason for the yellow party’s strong objection to this novel move is that it suspects a larger conspiracy behind the GO issued on Tuesday.
“The government is closing down as many as 4,637 schools across the state. It has now issued GO RT No 99 to provide free transport to school children as if it is doing a favour to them. In fact, the government is shutting down all these schools, citing poor enrolment of students. Hence its decision to provide transport to children, who are studying at these schools, to make them go to other schools situated in their neighbouring villages,” TDP politburo member Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy told reporters here on Wednesday.
Reddy said shutdown of schools would ruin the educational prospects of poor children in rural areas. The chief minister, instead of implementing his poll promise of KG-to-PG free education, was busy shutting down government schools in rural areas, he alleged.
“Instead of setting up new schools, this government is on the binge of closing down as many schools as possible. Such move is nothing but curtailing the right to education provided to children from poor background.
As per the Centre’s Right to Education Act, 2009, the state should take steps to provide free transport and hostel facilities to school-going children. But, this government is violating the basic spirit of the Act by closing down schools,” he said.
Ravula’s charges
4,637 government schools, 230 engineering colleges and 100 pharma colleges are being closed down in the state.
In Jayashankar Bhupalpally, the district named after educationalist and Telangana ideologue,100 schools are being closed.
The government has shut down even schools which have more than 100 students. The primary school at Mukundapur in Yalal mandal in Vikarabad district, where 102 students are studying, is an example.
Government prepared a file to close down 75 junior colleges.