Hyderabad, July 7 (RAHNUMA): Eminent educationists, retired judges, academics and civil society leaders have urged the Telangana government to withdraw its reported proposal to reduce the number of government schools in the state from 27,000 to 4,000. The proposal was originally made by the Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy during a discussion in Bengaluru on June 6.
In an open letter which was submitted to the Chief Minister on Tuesday, the signatories who included former High Court judges Justice B Chandra Kumar and Justice Radha Rani, along with Professors G Haragopal, M Kodandaram, K Nageshwar, MLCs Deshapathi Srinivas, Goreti Venkanna and several others, warned that closing nearly 23,000 schools would have severe educational and social consequences.
The signatories argued that the move would undermine the constitutional guarantee of free and compulsory education under the Right to Education Act, leave hundreds of gram panchayats without nearby schools, and disproportionately affect children from marginalized communities, particularly girls, increasing the risk of school dropouts and child labour.
They also questioned the government’s commitment to its election promise of allocating 15% of the state budget to education, and said that the poor administration – not lack of demand – was responsible for declining enrolment in government schools. The group urged the government to strengthen public education instead of shutting down schools.
