‘Future of poor students in dark’: Opposition, doctors protest ‘privatisation’ of AP medical colleges

The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) held a statewide protest against the alleged privatisation of government medical colleges in Andhra Pradesh. The party chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy urged the chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu to withdraw the decision to establish 10 medical colleges under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.

Criticising the move as against poor students, the opposition party organised rallies and marches in more than 175 constituencies. Thousands of MBBS students, doctors, and youth took part in the demonstrations, facing police barricades and detentions.

“Privatisation of medical colleges has drawn strong resistance from people across the state, and the massive rallies held in all 175 constituencies stand as proof of their collective voice. I am deeply proud of our citizens, YSRCP cadre, YSRCP leaders, like-minded parties and like-minded organisations who came forward voluntarily to defend public education and healthcare. This commitment shows that people value social welfare over private gain and are determined to safeguard the state’s future,” said Reddy in a post on X.

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Hitting out at the coalition party, Parliament observer B Naresh Kumar Reddy accused the CM of “plunging the future of poor students into darkness”, which will go down in history as a lowly figure.

PPP model

The party leaders said that the protests concluded the one-crore signature campaign launched earlier to demand withdrawal of the PPP model for medical colleges. They asserted that they would continue their agitation until the government fully withdrew the PPP decision and ensured that all 17 medical colleges, inaugurated by the former government, remained under public control.

“Coalition leaders should remember that if medical colleges are privatized, there will be no difference between you and us—they will collect the same fees from everyone without any exemptions for you. We appeal to you not to destroy the aspirations of poor students who want to pursue higher education,” said YSRCP.

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The Supreme Court dismissed a petition against the government's decision calling it a "luxury litigation". TDP-led NDA government recently announced plans to set up upcoming government medical colleges under the PPP model to ensure "faster execution and improved healthcare access". The move is aimed at addressing long-pending gaps in medical education and public health infrastructure across the state.