Vijayawada: Govt Polytechnic alumni demand more funds to college
The reunion of the alumni of Government Polytechnic at the college in Vijayawada on Monday
Vijayawada: The alumni of the Government Polytechnic, which met here on Monday, demanded the government to allot more funds for the development of polytechnics across the State.
CPM executive member and former student of Government Polytechnic Ch Babu Rao, addressing the alumni of the college, appealed to the State government to establish a government engineering college on the premises of the college here. There is a need to protect the vast land of the polytechnic, he pointed out.
Babu Rao exhorted the alumni members to take proactive steps to protect the college premises and undertake service programmes.
Recalling his student days at the government polytechnic from 1978 to 1981, Babu Rao said that as the general secretary of the polytechnic students union, he launched a massive agitation for more than 100 and achieved the lateral entry of polytechnic students into engineering courses. He said that he was still proud to claim that he was a former student of the government polytechnic college and a student leader.
Babu Rao expressed happiness that the former students of the college met irrespective of age, caste, creed, and others. Polytechnic students played a vital role in the industrial development of the country. “It is sad to note that the government had been slowly cutting down the fund allocation to the polytechnics and technical education giving more priority for privatisation,” he said.
He recalled several philanthropists donated land for the government polytechnic college here. ‘However, the land is being alienated by various institutions, which is not advisable.
The demand for an engineering college on the premises has been there for a long time but the successive governments did not respond. Moreover, the land is being alienated. Several constructions were stopped halfway through due to a paucity of funds.’ He appealed to the former students to come forward to protect the polytechnic college and strive for its development.
College principal M Vijaya Sarathy, former lecturers, Bhanumurthy and Gopichand, alumni members Nageswara Rao, Nilakantheswara Rao, Tulasi Rao, Jaganmohan, Srinivasa Rao, Ramesh Babu and others also spoke.
A sizable number of former students, who studied here since 1960 ,participated in the alumni meeting and shared their experiences.