A group of people, which calls itself Responsive Citizens, has been fighting against hefty fee in schools, colleges and other educational institutions. Many socio-economic problems are arising as education has become a costly affair in Andhra Pradesh and other States, they opine.
The team, mostly consisting of lorry owners, retired officials and businessmen, is distributing pamphlets to create awareness among people on the education system in other countries where respective governments had absolute control over the fee structure of the institutions.
AP Motor Transport Owners’ Association joint action committee representatives Gude Vasu and M.Janakiram Reddy, who are leading the group, say that every family has become a victim of the unprecedented rise of fee, which goes up to ₹1.5 lakh even for school education. Often, this has forced parents to resort to unethical ways to ensure education for their children in corporate schools and colleges. Many government employees and officials are accepting bribes to pay fees, they say.
“Around ₹1 crore has to be spent, if parents want their child to study medicine in a private medical college. The financial burden weighs over human values when these students enter the profession after completing a medical course. The situation is similar in case of other courses too. Instead of being a means to improve knowledge, education has turned into an investment to make money,” feels Mr.Vasu.
“Every educational institution and fee structure should be under the control of government. Then, there will not be any pressure on parents. Automatically, it solves many socio-economic issues,” he adds.
Migration of farmers
Agriculture has been badly hit with many rural people shifting to cities for the education of their kids, observes Mr.Janakiram Reddy. “The government should take steps to ensure KG to PG education in every mandal so that farmers can continue their agriculture activity without any need to migrate to urban areas,” he adds.
Their campaign evoked good response in Itchapuram, Palasa, Srikakulam, Visakhapatnam and other places. They also use social media to reach the maximum number of people in North Andhra. Their campaign also calls for good infrastructure in government hospitals.
The group members submit representations to MLAs and MPs urging them to raise the issues in Assembly and Parliament.
Hailing the campaign, Lok Satta senior leader Panchadi Rambabu says it is similar to the ideology of their party. “Free education and health should be at the top of the agenda of every political party in the next general election. People should also insist on them, instead of seeking other temporary benefits,” he opines.
