Centre, State ignoring education: AISF

Warangal: Notwithstanding the fact that education is fundamental to development and growth, the Central and State governments made no attempts to give a fillip to education, AISF national general secretary Vicky Maheshwari said.

Speaking to media persons in Hanumakonda on Friday, he found fault with the Centre and the State for ignoring the education sector. "The Centre and State had allocated just 2.64 per cent and 6.29 per cent of their respective budgets for the education sector which is too little. It's nothing but a conscious effort to handover the education sector to the corporate houses," he said.

The Centre's New Education Policy (NEP) favours corporate houses. As a result, 90 per cent of students will be denied quality education. Commercialisation of education is to hurt the students of backward classes, SCs, STs and minorities, Maheshwari said. He found fault with the Centre for abolishing pre-matriculation scholarships and Maulana Azad Fellowship for minority students. It indicates that the Centre is against the minorities. Maulana Azad Fellowship is a boon for minority students seeking higher education, he added. Further he demanded the Centre to restore the pre-matriculation scholarships and Maulana Azad Fellowship.

AISF national committee member NA Stalin accused the government of ignoring the State-run educational institutions. It led to mushrooming of corporate educational institutions. Narendra Modi-led Centre was conspiring to deny higher education to the minorities, he alleged.

Stalin criticised the State government for not allocating funds to Mana Ooru – Mana Badi programme. The State Government which promised to provide Rs 3,497 crore for the programme has in fact released just Rs 100 crore. Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao also failed to fulfill his promise of providing mid day meals to the students of junior colleges, he said. He also criticised the government for not filling the vacant posts in the education department. "As many as 20,519 teacher posts are vacant in the State. The government didn't even appoint district education officers to 22 districts. These apart, there are 7,550 teaching and non teaching posts are also vacant in colleges. In the case of State universities, 2,560 teaching and 3,000 non teaching posts are to be filled," Stalin said.

AISF Hanumakonda district president and secretary Velpula Prasanna Kumar and Bashaboina Santhosh, L Sharath, U Praneeth Goud, Velpula Charan Yadav, K Raviteja, Poornachander and M Raju Goud were among others present.