The reported suicide of 16-year-old Gutikonda Vijaya Chowdhary, first year Intermediate student of a corporate college located at Tadigadapa, has created quite a furore in the city.
CPI(M) cadre on Friday staged a dharna in front of the Sub-Collector’s office demanding that a special committee be set up to inquire into the functioning of corporate colleges in the city and the State.
City secretary of the party Ch. Babu Rao said there were about 10 such suicide cases in corporate colleges in the last one year, 50 in the last five years in the Vijayawada region alone.
He pointed out that the Neerdha Reddy Committee report was not considered and implemented so far in these corporate institutions and the government had remained a silent observer despite the youngsters taking the extreme step out of sheer desperation.
“More importantly, Secondary Education Minister K. Parthasarathi hails from this city. We demand an explanation from him,” he said.
Mr. Babu Rao said suicide cases in corporate colleges had become common as youngsters were not able to cope up with the pressure, stress, and strain.
Skit stagedTo exhibit what was happening, the party staged a skit depicting the suicide and politicians playing hand-in-glove with the college management.
Earlier, a delegation from the YSR Congress led by former Mayor Tadi Shakuntala and Patamata Suresh submitted a memorandum to Sub-Collector D. Harichandana, demanding an immediate inquiry into the affairs of the institution where Vijaya committed suicide on Monday morning.
The former Mayor pointed out that the college had become notorious for such incidents. “In 2001-03, there were three suicide cases in one month,” she said.
Mr. Suresh said the corporate colleges had becoming a money spinning industry, as they were least bothered about the welfare of the students.
“None of the colleges has playgrounds, recreational facilities or counselling centres. They only know to pressurise the students to produce marks. But at what cost? This aspect needs to be introspected,” he said.
Ms. Shakuntala said that apart from not providing basic amenities, despite collecting huge amount of fee, the managements treat the students in a very insulting way. “The suicide note purportedly written by Vijaya clearly indicated this,” she said.
Meanwhile, Penamuluru SHO K. Dharmendra informed The Hindu that the suicide note had been sent to the Forensic Lab in Hyderabad to determine the veracity of the handwriting.
