TEC public hearing on Intermediate education in Telangana -OxBig News Network

Intermediate education in the State needs reforms with changes ranging from curricula, building trust among parents, making government junior colleges more accessible, including timely payment of scholarships and fee reimbursements to students and institutions, among others.

Wide-ranging concerns were noted by various stakeholders at the public hearing organised by the Telangana Education Commission (TEC) here on Wednesday.

TEC member P.L. Vishweshwar Rao, opening the session, stressed that the State has been witnessing lower enrolment numbers and there was also a need to diversify by looking beyond the four traditional streams of MPC, BiPC, MEC and CEC.

No junior college

For one girl who attended the hearing with her mother, the concern was even more basic. She hails from Kapra mandal in Medchal Malkajgiri district, home to over 1.60 lakh people, but with no government junior college. Her family cannot afford private college fees and is hesitant to send her away for higher education.

Parents also highlighted the lack of awareness about Gurukula schools and called for fee regulation, career counselling and greater CSR involvement to improve infrastructure and services.

Civil society members echoed these concerns, pointing to poor infrastructure, high dropout rates due to the distance to colleges, lack of career guidance and a shortage of lecturers.

Strengthening colleges

Domain experts, lecturers and union leaders spoke about the “visible erosion of trust” in government colleges. Of 3,009 colleges in the State, only 400 are government-run, and over 90% of students are also enrolled in private institutions, they said. They called for a strict fee regulatory mechanism, and strengthening the colleges with sufficient funds, coaching and infrastructure.

Participants also said that the government must reconsider the need for EAMCET, if Intermediate examination is made the basis for future streams.

TEC chairperson Akunuri Murali said the main idea of the public hearing was to understand the concerns of parents and students. He also pointed to the stress level among students and the rapid commercialisation of Intermediate education. He assured that TEC will study the various aspects in depth, analyse and formulate suitable recommendations.