Polytechnic Students Step Up Protests Across Telangana Against GO 97
Students at Government Polytechnic, Ramanthapur, protested on campus, while women students demonstrated at Sangeet X Roads. Another group protested at the Government Institute of Electronics, Secunderabad.
HYDERABAD: Polytechnic students stepped up protests across Hyderabad and Telangana on Wednesday against GO 97, with protests at Ramanthapur, Secunderabad and West Marredpally, videos of a police-student confrontation in Mahabubabad and an SFI call for a statewide polytechnic bandh on Thursday. Students fear the move to place polytechnics under the SHAKTI department and Young India Skills University (YISU) could affect SBTET and ECET lateral entry.
Students at Government Polytechnic, Ramanthapur, protested on campus, while women students demonstrated at Sangeet X Roads. Another group protested at the Government Institute of Electronics, Secunderabad. West Marredpally also saw an ABVP-backed road protest outside the Government Polytechnic College. Tukaram Gate police took some ABVP leaders to the station after protesters moved onto the road.
The main concern is the future of the three-year diploma and the route into undergraduate engineering through ECET. TG ECET 2026 continues to provide an entrance route for diploma holders, so students are protesting what they fear could follow the administrative change, rather than an ECET cancellation.
Basant, a parent, said the diploma also opens up employment options. “There are government job opportunities also,” he said. Referring to the entrance route available to diploma students, he added, “If you clear the exam, you can directly enter into the second year.” He said parents wanted students’ academic options protected. “Children should be allowed to study and they should be motivated,” he said.
The situation turned tense at the Mahabubabad Collectorate when students tried to enter the premises and police stopped them. Videos circulating online show police personnel pushing protesters back during the confrontation. One video appears to show a police officer gripping two students around the neck as they are forced away from the entrance. Students later accused the police of using force against them.
Manchala Kiran Kumar, SFI vice-president at Osmania University, said Thursday’s bandh will be limited to polytechnic colleges. CJP (Cockroach Janata Party) volunteers in Telangana said they also spoke with students and college management and were standing by the students. They fear the changes could weaken SBTET, ECET lateral entry and higher-education options, while increasing private influence through YISU’s PPP model.
