TS Budget 2022: State to set up its first university for women

Hyderabad: Presenting the state budget for the financial year 2022-23, Telangana finance minister Harish Rao announced that Telangana is going to set up its first university for women. Rs. 100 crore has been allocated for the same, he said.

Mr. Harish Rao said that the state government believes women have to be at the forefront of higher education also. "To achieve this, I am proud to announce to this August House that the first women university of the state of Telangana is going to be established. An outlay of Rs. 100 crore is proposed towards the same," he said.

Upgrade of forest college in Mulugu

The minister announced that Rs. 100 crore has been allocated to upgrade the forest college in Mulugu to a forest university. "When the state was formed, there was not a single forest college. To plug the gap, the government started a forest college in Mulugu. Now, it is decided that this college will be upgraded into a forest university. An outlay of Rs. 100 crore is proposed towards the same," he announced in the Legislative Assembly on Monday.

Mana Ooru Mana Badi

The minister also announced that the Mana Ooru Mana Badi project will be introduced across the state to develop schools. An outlay of Rs. 7,289 crore is being set aside for the same. Explaining how the programme works, Mr. Harish Rao said, "This programme is known as "Mana Ooru Mana Badi" in rural areas and as "Mana Basti Mana Badi" in urban areas. In phase 1 of the programme, a mandal is taken as a unit and works in 9,123 schools within an outlay of Rs. 3,497 crore are going to be grounded. These works are being taken up in those schools that have higher enrolment."

The minister also added that the government is not going to discriminate based on whether an Assembly seat is held by the ruling party or by the opposition party. This programme will be taken up in all the mandals across the state, he added.

English education

Mr. Rao said the government has initiated measures to introduce English medium in all the schools. "Poor students who study predominantly in government schools should also have the benefit of studying in English. These students should also get opportunities at par with others. That is why the government is introducing English as the medium of instruction," the minister said.

He announced that 12 different types of works are being proposed in schools this year. They are related to digital education, electrification, drinking water, adequate furniture, repair works, painting of the schools, green chalkboards, kitchen sheds, compound walls, additional classrooms, dining halls in high schools, and toilets with water facilities. The minister assured that all the schools of the state would have facilities that are at par with corporate schools.

Residential schools

Stating that the number of residential schools in the state has increased, the minister said, "During the six-decade rule of the combined state, there were only a few residential schools. These schools had minimal facilities. After the formation of the state, the government has improved the infrastructure in existing schools and started a large number of new schools. Today, we have 973 residential schools across the state and excellent infrastructure providing high-quality education to the students."

He further said, "Telangana leads the country in terms of the number of residential educational institutions. These schools are set up with international standards. The students who have passed out of these institutions are now studying not only in premier institutions of India but also abroad."

Emphasizing the need to educate girls, he said, "The focus should especially be on educating Dalit and tribal girls so that they do not drop out of the education system. The Telangana government has started 46 women's residential degree colleges. In five residential colleges, postgraduate courses are also introduced. Nowhere in the country has residential institutions for women been started on such a large scale."