State colleges protest move

Hyderabad, June 16: The shifting of meritorious SC/ST students from government residential schools to corporate colleges has become a bone of contention between the officials of social and tribal welfare departments and the officials of state residential education institutions. Further, the decision of the welfare departments to select only two corporate junior colleges to admit all students who secured more than 450 marks in SSC has led to allegations of “favouritism” and attempt to promote those colleges at the cost of public money.
In an unusual move, the welfare departments’ officials decided to admit meritorious students, who studied in government residential schools, in two corporate junior colleges. There was neither any demand from the student community for the move nor did the state government ever announce plans to implement this scheme. But the officials of welfare departments initiated the process themselves, prepared proposals and secured approval from the government, all in a matter of days. The manner in which the project was executed in haste raised several doubts and allegations.
The officials decided to admit nearly 6,000 students belonging to SC/ST/BC categories in those colleges by paying an annual fee of Rs 35,000 per student and amounting to a total expenditure of nearly Rs 23 crore. But the principals of the state colleges refused to send the students arguing that most of the residential schools have an attached residential junior college and shifting of meritorious students to corporate colleges would leave government colleges with only “average” students. They allege that the officials are conspiring to weaken the residential colleges.