Private schools postpone stir plan after talks with Andhra Pradesh govt
VIJAYAWADA: Late Wednesday night, the Private Schools Managements Associations announced that the planned closure of thousands of private unaided schools across Andhra Pradesh, initially set for Thursday, July 3, has been postponed following successful negotiations with state government officials.
The associations, after extended discussions, received assurances from authorities that their concerns would be addressed, with issues escalated to HRD and Education Minister Nara Lokesh. However, due to the late announcement, most schools are likely to remain closed on Thursday.
The decision for the protest came after four major school associations—Independent Schools Managements Association (ISMA), Andhra Pradesh Private Unaided Schools Managements Association (APPUSMA), United Private Educational Institutions Federation (UPEIF), and UPSF—along with corporate schools, raised concerns over arbitrary actions by certain local officials.
Srikanth K ISMA State President, told TNIE that officials were pressuring schools to admit students under the RTE 12(1)(C) provision without proper verification, issuing show-cause notices, threatening de-recognition, and conducting biased inspections based on unverified complaints.
“We found cases of duplicate applications, with up to seven submissions under one student’s name using manipulated Aadhaar or other documents, yet seats were allotted without scrutiny,” he alleged.
K. Tulasi Vishnu Prasad, APPUSMA State President, emphasised that the protest targeted specific officials, not the government. He noted that these schools, educating 55% of the state’s students, often charge minimal fees to serve underprivileged children.
The associations highlighted that over 10,000 schools, 3 lakh staff, and 40 lakh students would have been affected. They urged for immediate government intervention to halt what they call “ongoing harassment” of private institutions committed to affordable, quality education.