Telangana SFI demands roll back of govt school reduction plan; over 1,000 students protest

Over 1,000 students participated in the protests organised by the Students Federation of India (SFI) Telangana across the state, demanding the withdrawal of the state’s proposal to reduce the number of government schools from 27,000 to 4,000. The protesters also highlighted several other issues affecting the education sector.

Urging the Telangana state government to roll back the withdrawal to reduce the number of government schools, the students group stated that such a move would severely affect access to public education, particularly for students from economically weaker sections.

Moreover, SFI also demanded that the government should provide two sets of uniforms and free textbooks to all government school students, according to an official statement.

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“The students also called for increased funding for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme and demanded that its implementation be entrusted to women's self-help groups instead of organisations such as Akshaya Patra, ISKCON and the Manna Foundation,” the statement read.

Among the demands, the federation also sought an immediate recruitment of teachers, Mandal education officers (MEOs), District Education Officers (DEOs), and lecturers to fill long-vacant posts across educational institutions.

Furthermore, they also asked for a strong regulation of private and corporate educational institutions, a legislation to control fee structures, and curbing the commercialisation of education.

“The protesters also urged the government to implement the Right to Education Act in full, including the provision of 25 per cent free admissions for students from economically weaker backgrounds in private schools,” it added.

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Criticising the widespread practice of private and corporate educational institutions operating sales centres for textbooks, uniforms and notebooks on their campuses, the agitators demanded closure of such outlets.

In addition, the protest also highlighted delays in the disbursal of scholarships and fee reimbursement, with demonstrators calling for the immediate release of pending funds and the withdrawal of Government Orders (GO) numbers 7, 8 and 9.

Hence, they demanded an immediate introduction of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in Intermediate colleges with adequate budgetary allocations, and urged the government to construct permanent buildings for schools, hostels and Gurukul institutions that are currently functioning in rented premises.