NELLORE: Telugu Desam fears the YSRC government’s move to merge classes III, IV, and V with high schools could lead to an increase in the number of dropouts from government schools.
Addressing media at the NTR Bhavan here on Sunday, TD’s senior leader Chejerla Venkateswar Reddy said it will be difficult for kids between 8–10 years of age from class III to V to walk 2–3 kilometres for reaching the high schools in their areas. He pointed out that because of this, children will either drop out of government schools or join nearby private schools despite financial constraints.
He requested the state government to drop the merger proposal in the interests of the children. He suspected that the government is merging schools as part of rationalisation to secure the World Bank loan of $250 million.
The Telugu Desam leader said the YSRC government is undermining education by spending only 9.6 percent of the budget, as against 14.12 percent earmarked by the erstwhile TD government. It had also filled 17,591 teacher posts besides opening 4,857 digital classrooms, apart from providing fibre net connection to 7,500 schools and building toilets in 40,665 schools in addition to creating playgrounds with the necessary infrastructure in schools.
Venkateswar Reddy further pointed out that the TD government had earmarked ₹4,848 crore for providing facelift and infrastructure in schools under its Hybrid Annuity Model. YSRC is now implementing the same scheme after changing its name to Nadu-Nedu.
Pointing out that the TD government had introduced English medium in government schools while continuing Telugu medium, the Telugu Desam leader said the YSRC regime has gone in for only English medium. This deprives students of the opportunity to learn in their own mother tongue, he remarked.
