HYDERABAD: Polytechnic students on Thursday threatened to intensify their agitation and lay siege to the Assembly and Secretariat if the Telangana government failed to withdraw its decision on the administrative restructuring of polytechnic education.
The warning came at the ‘Dharna Chowk Declaration’, organised by the Telangana Polytechnic Students’ JAC at Dharna Chowk. Students from 59 government polytechnic colleges, along with former students, parents and retired employees, joined the protest, demanding the unconditional withdrawal of GO 97.
The protesters said the proposed changes could erode the distinct identity and existing framework of polytechnic education and urged the government to retain a separate administrative structure.
Cockroach Janata Party founder Abhijit Deepke, who addressed the gathering through a video call, backed the agitation and warned of a larger protest on Tank Bund if GO 97 was not withdrawn. CJP South India in-charge Vijay Mullangi also urged the government to release the recommendations of the high-level committee examining the issue and ensure that the polytechnic system was protected.
For students, however, the concerns go beyond administrative restructuring. Sravani, a second-year polytechnic student, said the government’s claim that polytechnics were not being merged with YISU did not address their concerns.
“But GO No 97 states that polytechnics will be brought under the YISU framework and ecosystem. The government has not yet explained what this skill framework will be. Even officials do not seem to have clarity,” she said.
Naveen Reddy, another student, questioned the proposed public-private partnership model. “If companies and private organisations have a role in running the university, we are worried that profit may become more important than students’ interests,” he said.