The members of All India Students Federation (AISF) on Monday staged a dharna near the District Collector’s office, demanding scraping of the proposal to merge village-level schools with high schools.
They pointed out that as per the new education policy, the State government has passed an order to merge village-level elementary schools with high schools, which is faulty, as the children in the rural and tribal areas have to traverse long distance for education.
They also demanded the recruitment of teachers and staff at the non-sanctioned colleges. “In our state there are about 83 non-sanctioned colleges, which have one principal and one lecturer. They are managing with guest faculties. In Visakhapatnam district alone there are about five such colleges,” said AISF district secretary Phanindra Kumar.
These college also facing shortage of funds, he said.
According to the AISF members, there is also a shortage of junior lecturers in colleges and the students are yet to receive their textbooks. “We demand that recruitment be taken up immediately. In Visakhapatnam district there is a vacancy of about 78 lecturers,” he said.
‘Increase mess charges’
The AISF members also demanded that the mess charges be increased, as they have not been increased since 2018.
Since 2018, the mess charges have been fixed at ₹46 per day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The prices have increased manifold, but the charges have not been increased commensurately, they said.
They also pointed out that the bus pass charges have been doubled, which is burdening the student community. The bus pass charges which were ₹150 have gone up to ₹300 and the ₹300 passes have become ₹600, said Mr. Phanindra Kumar.
They also demanded fee reimbursement for PG students and implementation of RTE (Right to Education) Act by all schools in true letter and spirit of the Act.
They later met the District Collector and submitted a petition.
