Nizamabad MP D. Aravind on Thursday castigated the TRS Government for “destroying the entire education sector in Telangana from primary education till the universities as well as professional colleges like the IIIT-Basara in the last eight years by denying them funds, faculty and basic amenities like proper infrastructure and hostels”.
“The agitation of the students of the IIIT-Basara for the last few days is a reflection of neglect and apathy of the government led by Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao. Students took to the streets only after their repeated pleas to the government were ignored. I request students of all unversities to support them irrespective of political affiliations,” he told a press conference at the party office.
The BJP leader took objection to Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy, calling some of students’ demands as “silly”. “Her attitude is very disappointing. What is wrong in seeking a vice chancellor to stay in the campus or requesting KCR to visit the institute? Is it not part of Telangana? What is wrong in seeking a proper student-teacher ratio or renovation of buildings,” he questioned.
For the TRS government there is “no sense of responsibility, transparency or accountability”. “This is actually the problem prevailing in many educational institutions with those like the Telangana University on the verge of having its structures collapsing. KCR did not think twice in razing a secretariat sufficient for two states and spend up to ₹700-₹800 crore for a new one but does not want to allot funds for education,” he ridiculed.
The MP advised the Minister to introspect about the “abject neglect” of the education sector rather than criticise the students for raising just demands. “I am glad the IIIT-Basara students have brought the factual situation about the education sector to people nationwide. There are sufficient funds for the education sector from the Centre but there are not even proper toilets in most schools,” he said.
The MP also criticised the Congress “circus” for continuing to protest against the questioning of their leader Rahul Gandhi by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on the National Herald case.
