TRS Govt spending on education and health is deplorable: Rahul Gandhi

Hyderabad, Oct.29 (NSS): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday said that the next Congress Govt in Telangana would bear the maximum expenditure on education and public health.

Rahul Gandhi, who is in Telangana as part of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, held a meeting with senior leaders of the Congress party on the education sector in Yenugonda of Mahabubnagar district. He also interacted with the students, PhD scholars and JAC representatives of Osmania University on various issues. Calling the spending on education and health by the TRS Govt as highly deplorable, he said that it was the duty of the government to bear the maximum expenditure on education and public health. However, he said Telangana’s spending on both education and health was the least among 29 States in the country.

Congress MP & former TPCC President Capt. N. Uttam Kumar Reddy, along with AICC General Secretary Jairam Ramesh, AICC National Coordinator (SC/ST/OBC/Minorities) Koppula Raju, CLP leader Bhatti Vikramarka and TPCC Campaign Committee Chairman Madhu Yashki Goud addressed a press conference to give a brief on the discussion Rahul Gandhi had on the education sector.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said Rahul Gandhi was informed that TRS came to power in 2014 on the promise of giving free KG to PG education. However, KCR Govt ruined the entire education sector in the last 8 years. Nearly 4,000 government schools were shut down in the name of rationalisation and other reasons. Over 30,000 teachers’ posts are still vacant. Over 90% of residential schools have no buildings of their own and other facilities. Careers of over 12 lakh students are at risk due to non-clearance of Fee Reimbursement dues by the TRS Govt, he said.

Further, Rahul Gandhi explained about the non-clearance of Fee Reimbursement dues by the TRS Govt from 2020-21. There were dues of Rs. 828 Crore in 2020-21 while not a single rupee was released for the academic years 2021-22 and 2022-23. Presently, the State Govt owes Rs. 3,270 crores to private colleges towards the Fee Reimbursement of over 12 lakh students of nearly 3,600 junior, engineering, degree, pharmacy and other professional and non-professional colleges.

Reddy said Rahul Gandhi was shocked to learn that more than 850 Junior Colleges, 350 Degree Colleges, 150 PG colleges and hundreds of engineering, pharmacy and vocational colleges have shut down their operations since 2014. Further, nearly 30% of SC, ST, BC, Minority and EWS students dropped out of Higher Studies due to non-clearance of Fee Reimbursement dues. He was informed about how TRS Govt deprived funds for the universities, which included Research Funds. There is no permanent recruitment of Teaching and Non-Teaching Staff. Private Colleges have nearly 1.25 lakh employees, including faculty members. At least 30,000 people are losing their livelihood every year due to the non-release of Fee Reimbursement, he said.

The Congress leader said about 30,000 vacant teachers’ posts were not filled by the TRS Govt. Of 166 Teaching posts in the BEd colleges, as many as 152 teaching posts are vacant. Of 538 sanctioned posts of Mandal Education Officers (MEO), only 20 are filled. Similarly, of 33 districts, there are District Education Officers (DEOs) for only 10 districts. Thousands of other posts including Principal, Head Master, Attenders, etc., are still vacant.

Uttam Kumar Reddy said that Rahul Gandhi was briefed about the spending on education by the TRS Govt in Telangana. The spending has come down from 10.80% of the total budget in 2014-15 to just 6.24% in 2022-23. Giving the year-wise break-up, he said the allocation was 10.89% in 2014-15 which came down to 9.69% in 2015-16; 8.23% in 2016-17; 8.49% in 2017-18; 7.61% in 2018-19; 6.76% in 2019-20; 6.69% in 2020-21; 6.78% in 2021-22 and 6.24% in 2022-23. According to an RBI report, Telangana is at the bottom of the list of 29 States in terms of spending on education.

Rahul Gandhi was also informed that almost 90% of minority institutions have shut down ever since TRS came to power in 2014. As against 53 minority engineering colleges in 2014-15, there are now just eight colleges. Nearly 1.30 Lakh students belonging to minority communities have discontinued their higher studies due to the non-release of Post Matric Scholarships (MTF) and Reimbursement of Tuition Fees (RTF).

Expressing serious concern over the complete neglect of education and also the health sector by the TRS Govt, Rahul Gandhi said that the expenditure on education and health must be borne mostly by the government. This is not happening now in Telangana. He said the Congress party, after coming to power in Telangana in 2023, would ensure the education and health sectors get maximum funds (NSS)

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