The State government has expressed its concern over the Central government’s ‘discrimination’ against Telangana in terms of allocation of prestigious educational and research institutions.
Deputy Chief Minister (Education) Kadiyam Srihari said the State was given a raw deal in allocation of premier institutions like IIT, IIM and others in spite of assurances given in the AP Reorganisation Act. “Telangana has been neglected by the Centre. Not a single institution has come to the State in spite of repeated representations submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet colleagues,” he said.
In contrast, Andhra Pradesh was given as many as 17 institutions including an IIT, IIM, IISER, Petroleum and Tribal varsities in addition to an NIT.
Promises made
“Telangana too should have got these institutions if the promises were implemented,” he said. The matter was represented to Union Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar during the just concluded meeting of the Central Advisory Board on Education in New Delhi and the Union Minister assured to positively examine the representation.
Mr. Srihari took strong exception to claims of TS BJP president K. Laxman on the State’s performance in the education sector claiming that the charges were “baseless”. There was no truth in the charge that over 5,000 schools were either closed or merged with other institutions nor was the figure of vacant teachers’ posts, as claimed by Mr. Laxman, right.
“The State has sanctioned strength of 1.22 lakh teachers of which 1.09 lakh are working. We have recently issued notification for recruitment of 8,792 posts through the public service commission,” he said. The charge that Telangana had highest drop out rate was also not true. The State’s average in respect of drop outs at primary, upper primary and other levels was much lower than the national average.
‘State leading’
He recalled the praise showered by the Centre on the initiatives launched by the State in improving education standards. The Union HRD Minister in fact advised the other States to follow the Telangana model in setting up of residential institutions for girls and those from the marginalised sections in addition to replicating the model of menu being provided in the welfare hostels.
He said the government would send a list of institutions that should have come to Telangana to the State BJP leadership asking them to convince the Centre to grant these institutions without any delay. “The BJP which claims itself as an alternative in the State should convince the Centre to fulfil the assurances given to the State,” he said.
