Students' union demands 30 per cent of Telangana budget for education

Hyderabad: The Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) in Telangana demanded that the State government allocate 30 per cent of the state budget for education.

“The Kothari Commission’s recommendations for the educational budget should be followed. The government should also immediately make the scholarship process better and more accessible to the students,” the student body said in their manifesto, released in the city on Thursday ahead of the Telangana State Assembly elections, which contained their list of demands for the development of education in the state.

The SIO has been demanding equity, access and quality in the field of education, especially the educational advancement of minorities and Backward Classes.

Lack of scholarships and buildings in disrepair

The SIO manifesto explained the critical condition of education in the state due to budget deficits. As per the manifesto, the education budget in the state has been continuously decreasing over the years, with even buildings of educational institutions becoming dilapidated due to a lack of funds for repair.

Further, the manifesto discussed the issue of minority scholarship.

“Many students are unable to get certificates from educational institutions due to the non-issue of scholarships. They are being forced to pay fees by taking loans. We demand that the State government immediately pay these arrears and make the scholarship process better,” said Abdul Hafeez, the state president of SIO.

The manifesto raised the issue of injustice done to the District Selection Committee (DSC) Urdu medium students. The manifesto included demands for the government to de-reserve the panel to fill up the vacant seats, including Urdu medium seats in DSC-2023.

More aid to minority institutions

The manifesto called for safeguarding the future of the Telangana Minorities Residential Educational Institutions Society (TMREIS).

“The government should allocate a budget that secures the future of TMREIS. This is possible by making the society’s budget a ‘sub-plan’ instead of a minority budget and constructing its buildings on Waqf Board land,” the SIO state president pointed out.

The manifesto also mentioned the problem of abandoned properties in the educational institutions of the state and demanded that all such properties be filled immediately.

SIO calls for security of private data

The manifesto demanded that the privacy of individuals, whether digital or otherwise, must be protected. No state authority must be given jurisdiction to monitor, collect or share information relating to private citizens without legally valid causes and due process of the law.

The manifesto also discussed student politics in the state universities. SIO state secretary Faraz Ahmed said, “Student politics in the state universities has been closed for a long time due to lack of youth leadership in the state. The government should immediately restore the student elections in accordance with the recommendations of the Lyngdoh Commission.”

Meanwhile, referring to the SIO manifesto, Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee Minority Department chairman Shaik Abdullah Sohail, said, “For the last 10 years, the students have been demanding their rights regarding scholarships, loans, education, employment, wakf properties etc. But nothing substantial has been done by the government.”

“Even if there has been some hike in the minority budget, the implementation is questionable. Since there is no high command and the chief minister is not answerable to any party high command in BRS, they do not care about looking into the demands of the students and implementing them,” he added.