Student groups across Telangana called for an education bandh in the state on Wednesday, July 12 protesting several issues including the lack of a fee regulation law in the state in a combined press statement. The state wings of Student Federation of India (SFI), All India Students’ Federation (AISF), Progressive Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO), All India Students’ Bloc (AISB), All India Progressive Students’ Union (AIPSU) and the All India Federation of Democratic Students (AIFDS) have called for closure of schools and intermediate colleges.
“Several crores worth of scholarships and fee reimbursements are still pending with the state government which is affecting marginalised students across the state,” SFI state president RL Murthy from Osmania University told TNM.
Murthy, a PhD scholar in the department of Sociology also took issue with over 26,000 teachers vacancies across the state. The organisations also demanded the completion of pending distribution of textbooks along with providing students with uniforms.
Among other demands, the organisations also asked for extension and proper implementation of the ‘Mana Ooru Mana Badi’ government scheme with proper funds and asked for vacancies of cleaning staff and scavengers to be filled in all schools.
Murthy took issue with regulating private schools charging students exorbitant fees and asked for a law capping fees for private institutions across the state.
Earlier, on June 26, student organisation Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) called for a statewide bandh in schools across demanding the implementation of basic amenities in state-run schools and an end to the state government’s alleged tendency to favour private school education.