Leader of the A.P. United Teachers’ Federation (AP UTF) expressed disappointment with the Budget presented by Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy in the Assembly on Thursday.
In a statement, its president N. Venkateswarlu and general secretary K.S.S. Prasad said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy’s assurances on repeal of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and implementation of an effective Pay Revision Commission (PRC) had not found any mention even in the third Budget presented by his government.
‘Dip in allocation’
They said the government’s claim that the education sector was its top priority did not reflect in its policies. They pointed to the fact that this year, 10.7% of the total Budget was allocated to the education sector against 11.4 % last year.
Compared to the past, funds for schemes such as Jagananna Gorumudda and Amma Vodi had been increased, but there was substantial slash in the overall allocations. Also, there was no mention of setting up of new schools in the government sector, nor any proposal to appoint teachers, they pointed out.
They said, to achieve 100% literacy, the government would have to increase budgetary allocation to the education sector. There was a need to start new schools and junior colleges in the government sector and fill the posts of education officers at the mandal and district levels.
Even in the case of higher education, the budgetary allocation had come down to ₹1,913 crore from ₹2,276 crore last year, they said, adding that doubts were being expressed over the government’s plans to hand over the higher education sector to the corporate companies in the future.
Contrary to the claim that the YSRCP government had already fulfilled 95% of the promises it had made to different sections of people, the main demands of teachers and employees were yet to be addressed, they said. The issues of repeal of the CPS, constitution of PRC, and payment of arrears of DA to the employees were left untouched, leaving 1.86 lakh employees and teachers disappointed, they said.
