HYDERABAD: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday ruled out privatisation of polytechnic colleges, saying they were brought under the Young India Skill University (YISU) only to improve the career prospects of students.
Participating in a discussion on education in the Assembly, Revanth welcomed a debate on the proposed Telangana education policy and said the government would consider members’ suggestions. The policy, he said, should equip Telangana students to compete globally and focus on quality education for Gen Alpha and Gen Beta by adopting the best practices worldwide.
On the concerns over polytechnic colleges and Advanced Technology Centres (ATCs), the chief minister said the government was willing to reconsider its decisions after discussions with students and other stakeholders. A committee had been formed to examine their concerns. “The talk of privatisation of polytechnic institutions is false. The three-year diploma course will be continued as it is,” he said.
He assured students of lateral entry into engineering courses and said there would be no threat to staff job security or fee hikes. Polytechnic students would receive a monthly stipend of Rs 2,500 and YISU students Rs 2,000.
Revanth said the government was seeking AICTE recognition for the YISU and urged polytechnic students to visit ATCs to understand the proposed changes. He said Tata Group had signed an MoU with the state government to invest Rs 4,000 crore in developing 59 polytechnic colleges. The government had also alienated 282 acres of land for new ATCs, he said.
The chief minister accused the BRS of spreading misinformation about the reforms and trying to turn students into “sacrificial lambs” for political gain.
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Revanth said such “farmhouse conspiracies” would not succeed. The chief minister particularly criticised senior BRS leader and Siddipet MLA T Harish Rao, who studied at Masab Tank Polytechnic College, alleging that he was misleading students over the government’s plans.
The chief minister also accused the previous BRS government of considering the allotment of Osmania University land for 2BHK housing.
Revanth said fee reimbursement had helped increase occupancy in polytechnic colleges from 59% to 95%.
He said the government had spent Rs 3,488 crore on fee reimbursement over the past 32 months and would continue the scheme for genuine educational institutions.
On broader education reforms, Revanth said the government was spending `1.08 lakh a month on each government student and that the Centre had agreed to provide a Rs 4,000-crore education loan within the FRBM limit. Teachers would be given an opportunity to take one-year study leave abroad, similar to IAS and IPS officers, he said.
He also said MLAs and MLCs would be sent to Japan, China, Germany and South Korea to study skill-development models. The government was spending Rs 687 crore on providing shoes, uniforms and other articles to students, he said, rejecting
Opposition allegations of a Rs 2,000 crore scam.
Explaining the Telangana Public School model, Revanth said his experience of studying in a government school had shaped his approach to education. He said the government was working to improve the education system and pointed to an increase of 86,000 students in government schools since he took charge as education minister.
Responding to criticism over the education portfolio being with the chief minister, Revanth said it reflected the importance his government attached to the department.