HYDERABAD: In a major turn of events, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Telangana government on Friday, taking suo moto cognizance of the more-than-20 student suicides in the State, allegedly due to large-scale irregularities in the Intermediate exam results.
Highlighting that nearly 3.5 lakh students failed in the exam conducted by the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education, the NHRC, in its notice to Chief Secretary Shailendra Kumar Joshi, sought a report on action taken against the guilty, along with the kind of relief, if any, offered to the aggrieved families. A “detailed report” on the issue has to be submitted to the NHRC within four weeks.
Calling it an “issue of serious lapse on (the) part of the authorities, amounting to a violation of human rights”, the NHRC said a “thorough probe into the matter is required not only to punish the guilty but to ensure that such sorrowful incidents do not recur.”
It also observed that though the Intermediate Board initially dismissed the matter, it accepted its lapses only after protests intensified.