Visakhapatnam: The large number of suicides by Intermediate students from private colleges in Andhra Pradesh has led to new debate over the situation. Parents and teachers are now demanding the government provide EAMCET, IIT and NEET coaching facility in government junior colleges to check the mushrooming private colleges and put an end of the suicides of students in corporate colleges.
There are around 450 government junior colleges and 150 aided colleges against the more than 2,000 private junior colleges in the state. These private colleges outnumbering government colleges is raising doubts if the state government has joined hands with some people and leaving the fate of the entire sector in the hands of private people.
Most of the parents ask for EAMCET, IIT, NEET and some other coaching facilities to be provided that are not available in government junior colleges. Over 70 per cent of students opt for corporate colleges like Narayana and Sri Chaitanya. If the same coaching facility is provided in government junior colleges, the number of government junior colleges will increase and a majority of students will study intermediate in government colleges only says Samala Simhacha-lam, a government teacher.
The government has been blaming parents for the rising number of suicides by student but the fact, the teacher maintains, remains that the government is responsible for the students resorting to the extreme step. They feel neglected because the government junior colleges lack the facilities, he added.
Sources said staff crisis was one of the major issues in the government junior colleges. Out of 5,600 odd regular staff required for government junior colleges in the state, less than 2,000 are on the rolls while the rest are appointed on contract basis. Over 170 junior colleges do not have a principal. How can the students can expect EAMCET, IIT and NEET coaching facility in government colleges when the colleges are left in the lurch, says a contract lecturer, N.R. Kumar.
“We have made a number of representations to the government to appoint regular faculty and provide better infrastructure. But, the government has done nothing so far hence Narayana and Sri Chaitanya Junior colleges have been doing a brisk business in the education sector. Government junior colleges are not in a position to compete with the private colleges as government itself appears to be pushing the corporate colleges forward in the competition. If the same trend continues in the state, there will no end of suicides of students in private colleges, where staff has been harassing students for better marks and ranks,” said leaders and activists of SFI.
