TRS-SKC...abt EDUCATION

Education

Development of education affects and, in turn gets affected, by the pace of economic development. There is a bidirectional linkage. In this process, low rate of literacy and economic backwardness sustain each other. This is precisely the problem of Telangana.

The forced coexistence of Telangana with Andhra for more than half a century has thrown the region into a very unenviable position in the realm of literacy not only within the regions in the State, but also across the states in the country .

At the time of formation of Andhra Pradesh, it was assured that disparities in the levels of development in different regions of the state, including the field of education, would be removed in five to ten years of time. But even after five and a half decades, the literacy rate in the Telangana region continues to be lowest in the State. The region-wise details are given in the following table:


Table-- I
Literacy Rates (2001 Census)

S. No
Region

Literacy Rate (%)
Persons Males Females
1.
Andhra
62.90 72.00
53.50
2.. Telangana
57.70
68.40
46.80

Andhra Pradesh
60.40
70.30
50.40


Source: Census of India, 2001

It is to be further noted that if the capital city with a literacy rate of 78.80 is not taken into account, the literacy rate of nine districts of Telangana is less compared to North Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema, said to be the most backward areas of the State.



In this scenario the Telangana region ranks 32 among the 35 States (including 7 Union Territories) at the national level.

With regard to the literacy of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes of the region, the position is much worse, as is evident from the following figures:

Table-- II
Literacy Rates of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

S.No
Region

Category
Literacy Rate (%)

Persons
Males
Females

1. 1.

Andhra
SCs

STs
47.60

38.40
66.60

47.40
42.50

29.30

2.

Telangana

SCs

STs
47.10

33.30
58.30

44.50
35.60

21.60


Andhra Pradesh
SCs

STs 63.50

37.00 63.50

47.70 43.40

26.10

Source: Census of India, 2001

The main reason for the prevalence of low literary rate in Telangana is the result of uneven distribution of educational facilities in different regions of the State. The important factor to be kept in view in this regard is the percentage of population spread over the regions of the State, i.e., 41.58% in Coastal Andhra, 17.73% in Rayalaseema and 40.69% in Telangana. This is necessary to assess the adequacy or otherwise of the facilities of education created vis-a-vis the size of the population and the levels of literacy achieved. The removal of regional disparities would be possible only when the government takes special care in providing the necessary facilities. But it has not happened in the case of Telangana.

A perusal of the statistics published and released every year by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the State Government makes startling revelations. Between 1956 and 2001, spanning a period of 45 years, at no point of time the enrollment of students at the primary school level – a crucial stage – was more than 32-33 percent. It should have been at least 40.69 percent of the total enrollment in the state. Though from the year 2001 onwards, there has been some improvement with regard to enrollment in this region, the higher dropout rate here is nullifying the end result. The region-wise dropout rates relating to classes I-V registered during the year 2007-08 are as follows:
Table-- III
Dropout Rates (Classes I-V), 2007-08

S. No Region Dropout Rate (%)
1
2
3 Coastal Andhra
Rayalaseema
Telangana

Andhra Pradesh 23.69
13.41
62.90

100

Source: Statistical Abstract, 2008; Directorate of Economics and Statistics, AP


One of the major factors for the highest dropout rate in Telangana is the poverty of the parents, which is the consequence of economic backwardness of the region.

Collegiate Education

The situation prevailing in the sphere of collegiate education (Degree and Junior Colleges) is also more or less the same as at the primary school level. It becomes evident from the number of teachers working in these colleges, managed by the State Government and the private aided colleges receiving grant-in-aid from the government. It is well known that the salary component paid to the teaching and supporting staff of these institutions constitutes more than 90% of the total expenditure incurred by the government on these institutions. The region wise details of staff working in such institutions, and thereby the extent of expenditure incurred on them, culled out from the official statistics for the year 2007-08 are given hereunder:
Degree Colleges:

Table--IV
Number of Teachers in Government and Aided Degree Colleges

S. No Region No. of Teachers Actual % Entitlement %
1. Andhra 8828 70.5 59.31
2. Telangana
3709
29.50
40.69


Andhra Pradesh
12,537
100
100


Source: Statistical Abstract, 2008; Directorate of Economics and Statistics, AP

These figures make it abundantly clear that only 29.50% of the expenditure is incurred on the Telangana region against its entitlement of a minimum of 40.69%. Obviously a disproportionately higher allocation is made to the other regions.

Further, a look at the quantum of grant-in-aid released by the State Government to the private aided colleges for the year 2008-09 throws some more light on the discriminatory policies of the State Government. It could be seen in the following table:


Table-- V
Grant-in-Aid Released to Private Aided Degree Colleges (2008-09)

S. No. Region
Grant-in-Aid
(in Rupees) Actual %
Entitlement %

1. Andhra 1,521,445,289 75.25 59.31
2. Telangana 49,89,60,900 24.75 40.69
Andhra Pradesh 202,14,05,189 100 100

Source: Commissionaraite of Collegiate Education, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh





Further details to be noted are:

i. The nine Telangana districts (excluding the capital city) account for Rs. 17,05,51,900, i.e. just 8.41% of the total grant released for the entire state.
ii. In Coastal Andhra, just two districts (Krishna and Guntur) get Rs. 61, 42,47,000 i.e., 30.38% of the total grant meant for the 23 districts of the State.

Junior Colleges:

The position obtaining in the Government and Government aided Junior Colleges also is more or less the same. In the case of Government Junior Colleges, the staffing pattern is balanced at the moment. But it is offset by the staffing pattern of the Aided Private Junior Colleges which is very much disadvantageous to Telangana. The details are given in Table VI:

Table--VI
Number of Posts of Teachers in Government and Aided Junior Colleges

S. No Region No. of Posts Actual % Entitlement %
1. Andhra
Government
Aided
4588
1578
49.57
79.98
59.31
2.
Telangana
Government
Aided
4668
395
50.43
20.02
40.69

Andhra Pradesh
Government
Aided
9256
1973
100
100
100

Source: Board of Intermediate Education, AP

A peripheral look at these figures creates an impression that with regard to number of posts of teachers in Government Junior Colleges, Telangana is in a better position. But the fact is that more than half of these posts are kept vacant with the possibility of abolishing them altogether. This policy is being pursued silently but effectively in a phased manner. It is happening in Andhra area also to some extent. But it is being compensated by admitting to grant-in-aid a large number of posts in Private Aided Colleges. Whereas, in Telangana area the number of posts admitted to grant-in-aid is a staggering 20%.

Universities

There are two categories of universities in the State funded by the State Government.

i. Universities with state-wide jurisdiction – 17 in number.

ii. Universities with jurisdiction restricted to specific region or district – 16 in number.

Table-- VII
Universities with State-wide Jurisdiction


1. Coastal Andhra:

1. NTR University of Health Sciences (Vijayawada)
2. AP Horticultural University (West Godavari)
3. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, JNTU, (Kakinada)
4. AP University of Law (Visakhapatnam)
5. Dravidian University (Kuppam)
6. Sri Padmavathi Women’s University (Tirupathi)
7. SV Institute of Medical Sciences, SVIMS (Tirupathi)
8. SV Vedic University (Tirupathi)
9. SV University of Veterinary Sciences (Tirupathi)
10. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, JNTU, (Ananthapur)
11. Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge and Technology, RGUKT (Idupulapaya)

2. Telangana:

1. Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University
2. Dr. BR Ambedkar Open University
3. Potti Sriramulu Telugu University
4. Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, JNTU
5. Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences
6. Jawaharlal Nehru University of Architecture and Fine Arts
(Telangana, 9 districts NONE)

Source: AP State Council of Higher Education.
In this context, there are quite a few intriguing facts to be noted:

i. The JNTU was actually established in Warangal (Telangana); but was subsequently shifted to Hyderabad under the pretext of locating all state level universities of the State in the capital city. It was done by the then Congress Government.

ii. The Open University was originally launched on the northern banks of Nagarjuna Sagar in Nalgonda district (Telangana); but was shifted within two months to Hyderabad, again, on the same pretext. And this was done by the NTR led TDP government.

iii. The same NTR started the University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada (Coastal Andhra) and the Women’s University in Tirupathi (Rayalaseema), conveniently forgetting the convention of locating the state level universities in the capital city.

iv. NTR’s successor and son-in-law Chandrababu Naidu followed his footsteps and located the Dravidian University in a remote village Kuppam and SVIMS in Tirupathi -- both in the Rayalaseema region.

v. Rajasekhar Reddy continued this practice without any reason or restraint and went on the spree of establishing state level universities mostly in Rayalaseema and Andhra regions. They are:

a) Horticulture University in West Godavari District (Coastal Andhra)
b) Law University in Visakhapatnam (Coastal Andhra)
c) University of Veterinary Sciences in Tirupathi (Rayalseema)
d) Vedic University in Tirupathi (Rayalseema)
e) RGUKT in Idupulapaya, a village in Kadapa (Rayalseema)

vi. State level universities situated in the capital city have a few noteworthy dimensions:

a) When JNTU was shifted from Warangal to Hyderabad, it was endowed with the facility of having two constituent colleges, one in Kakinada (Coastal Andhra) and the other in Ananthpur (Rayalaseema), but none in Telangana. Recently, JNTU has been trifurcated by upgrading the campuses at Kakinada and Ananthapur into full-fledged universities and truncating the jurisdiction of the parent university in the capital city. But the nine districts of Telangana do not have a JNTU like the other two regions.

b) The story of Agricultural University is much more difficult to comprehend. All the courses offered by this university were once an integral part of Osmania University. Therefore, all the seats were available mostly, if not exclusively, to the students of Telangana. After the formation of Andhra Pradesh, all the departments of this discipline were taken away from the Osmania University to form the present state level agricultural university. As a result, the students of Telangana are left with a mere 36% of the seats. It has not stopped at that. The establishment of the University of Veterinary Sciences at Tirupathi (Rayalaseema) and horticultural University in West Godavari (Andhra) caused considerable erosion in the significance of the parent agricultural university, which, in fact, is an offshoot of Osmania University.

vii. Location of a university in a district place facilitates and contributes to the development of that area. For instance, the University of Health Sciences in Vijayawada and SVIMS in Tirupathi have improved the medical facilities in and around those towns, besides providing employment opportunities to the locals. Similarly, the Dravidian University has considerably changed the face of Kuppam, a small svillage in the Rayalaseema region. Likewise four state level universities, besides one regional university, have made Tirupathi town compete with the capital city itself in the field of higher education.

viii. Discrimination in the appointment of vice chancellors and recruitment of staff in these state level universities is more pronounced. At present (2010) hardly three of the seventeen vice chancellors hail from the Telangana region. With regard to the recruitment of staff, none from Telangana gets entry into the universities situated in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions; whereas the gates of all such universities located in Hyderabad are open to everyone. Here, the doctrine of “Might is Right” works; and, in the process, the Telangana component of staff gets restricted to hardly 10% of the total staff.

Table-- VIII
Universities with Regional/District Level Jurisdiction

I. Andhra:
1. Andhra University (Visakhapatnam)
2. Acharya nagarjuna university (Guntur)
3. Adikavi nannayya Univeiversity (Rajamundry)
4. Dr. BR Ambedkar University (Srikakulam)
5. Krishna University (Machilipatnam)
6. Vikrama Simhapuri University (Nellore)
7. Sri Venkateswara University (Tirupathi)
8. Sri Krishna Devaraya University (Ananthapur)
9. Yogi Vemana University (Kadapa)
10. Rayalaseema University (Kurnool)

II. Telangana:
1. Osmania Universwity (Hyderabad)
2. Kakatiya University (Warangal)
3. Telangana Univwrsity (Nizamabad)
4. Mahatma Gandhi University (Nalgonda)
5. Satavahana University (Karimnagar)
6. Palamoor University (Mahboobnagar)


Source: AP State Council of Higher Education


Region wise dispersal of these universities appears to be balanced, prima facie. But with regard to the allocation of funds, the discrimination against Telangana is blatant. Before the year 2004, the number of these universities in the State was six -- two in each region. The release of grants to these universities has all along been discriminatory, discernable in the per capita expenditure incurred on the students of different universities. The position computed on the basis of grants released between 2005 and 2009 is as under:


Table-- IX
Per Capita Block Grant to the Six Old Universities (2004 to 2009)

S. No
Region University Per Capita Block Grant
(In Rupees)

1.

Andhra
I. Andhra
II. Nagarjuna
III. Sri Venkateswara
IV. Sri Krishna Devaraya
35,500
22,700
37, 500
25,000





2.
Telangana
tT
I. Osmania
II. Kakatiya
17,400
14,000




Source: Budget Documents for the Years 2004-2009 presented to the AP Assembly

Further, due to its location in the capital city, the Osmania University has ceased to be a university meant exclusively for the students of the Telangana region. Thereby, the students of Telangana are deprived of their rightful share in their own region. This kind of problem does not arise in the regional universities situated in Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema.

During Rajasekhar Reddy’s tenure as the Chief Minister, ten new regional/district level universities have been established – four each in Coastal Andhra and Telangana and two in Rayalaseema. Numerically, it appears judicious; but, the pattern of the release of grants to these universities is atrocious. For instance, the Yogi Vemana University in Kadapa, Telangana University in Nizambad and Mahatma Gandhi University in Nalgonda were started at the same time. The grants released to these universities from their inception till 2009 are as under:










Table X
Block Grant Released to Some New Universities (2006 to 2009)


S. No

University

Block Grant Released
(In Rupees)
1
Telangana University
(Nizambad, Telangana)

29,50,00,000

2
Mahatma Gandhi University
(Nalgonda, Telangana)

30,51,00,000

3 Yogi Vemana University
(Kadapa, Rayalaseema)
300,00,00,000

Source: AP State Council of Higher Education

Can there be a more blatant example of discrimination against Telangana?

Professional Education

In this section, the institutions offering professional courses in Medicine and Engineering funded and managed by the State Government are taken into consideration. There has no doubt been an indiscriminate proliferation of private colleges offering these courses; but, they are mostly commercial in nature. They are, therefore, not accessible to the clientele, especially in the backward areas.

Medical Education:


A region wise breakup of the government medical colleges is given in the following table:








Table E-XI
Government Medical Colleges

Region
No.of Seats
I. Andhra:

1. Andhra Medical College (Visakhapatnam)
2. Rangaraya Medical College (Kakinada)
3. Guntur Medical College (Guntur)
4. Ragiv Gandhi Institute of medical Sciences (Srikakulam)
5. Siddhartha Medical College (Vijayawada)
6. Sri Venkateswara Medical College (Tirupathi)
7. Government Medical College (Kurnool)
8. Government Medical College (Ananthapur)
9. Ragiv Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (Cudappa)

150
150
150
100

100
150
150
100
150
Total Seats
% of Total Seats
% of Entitlement 1200
66.67
59.31
II. Telangana:

1. Osmania Medical College (Hyderabad)
2. Gandhi Medical College (Hyderabad)
3. Kakatiya Medical College (Warangal)
4. Ragiv Gandhi Institute of medical Sciences (Adilabad)

200
150
150 100

Total Seats
% of Total Seats
% of Entitlement 600
33.33
40.69
A.P. Total 1800

Source: AP State Council of Higher Education.

It clarifies that the distribution of these colleges is not in proportion to either the number of districts or the population of a region. While the four districts of Rayalaseema, have four colleges, the Telangana region comprising ten districts has, paradoxically, the same number of colleges. Thus while the Rayalaseema with a population of 17. 73% has access to 30.55% of total seats; the Telangana with a population of 40.69% has to satisfy itself with only 33.33% of the total seats.

It is also to be noted that out of 600 seats available in the Telangana colleges, 350 seats are available in the capital city in the two colleges established by the erstwhile Hyderabad Government. After the formation of Andhra Pradesh, these seats ceased to be the exclusive prerogative of the natives of Telangana. Such a problem does not exist in the Andhra and Rayalaseema regions.

Table XII
Government Dental Colleges

Region No. of Seats
Actual %
Entitlement %

i. Andhra:
a. Government Dental College (Vijayawada) 40

b. Government Dental College (Cudappa) 100

Total 140 77.78 59.31
ii. Telangana:
a. Government Dental College (Hyderabad)
40 22.22
40.69
Andhra Pradesh Total 180 100

Source: AP State Council of Higher Education.

The discrimination is so glaring, that it hardly needs any explanation.












Technical Education:


The region wise dispersal of institutions offering Engineering and Technical education is given in the following table:

Table-- XIII
Colleges of Engineering and Technology: Public Sector

Region No. of Seats
I. Andhra:
1. Andhra University Engineering College (Visakhapatnam)
2. JNTU (Kakinada)
3. JNTU College of Engineering (Vijayanagaram)
4. JNTU ( Ananthapur)
5. JNTU College of Engineering (Pulivendula)
6. School of Engineering and Technology, Women’s
University (Tirupathi)
7. SV University College of Engineering (Tirupathi)
8. SKD College of Engineering (Ananthapur)
9. Yogi Vemana University College of
Engineering(Poddatur)
10. College of Agricultural Engineering (Ananthapur )
11. College of Food Sciences and Technology (Pulivendula)
12. Dairy Technology Programme (Tirupathi)
410
250
300
300
300
240

260
180
300

45
20
20
Total 2625
% of Total Seats
Entitlement % 69.82
59.31
II. Telangana:
1. JNTU ( Hyderabad)
2. Osmania University College of Engineering (Hyderabad)
3. Osmania University College of Technology (Hyderabad)
4. Kakatiya University College of Engineering (Kothagudem)
5. JNTU College of Engineering (Karimnagar)
6. Dairy Technology Programme ( Kamaraddy)
290
320
100
105
300
20
Total 1135
% of Total Seats
Entitlement % 30.18
40.69
A.P. Total 3760

Source: AP State Council of Higher Education.


Note: As in the case of Medical Education the allocation of seats in the Engineering colleges is also glaringly disproportionate. While 44.29% of seats are available for 17.73% of population in Rayalaseema, the 40.69% of Telangana population has access to only 30.18% of seats in Engineering colleges. Further, out of 1135 seats available in Telangana, 710 are concentrated in the capital city alone. As explained earlier, these seats in the capital city ceased to be available exclusively for the Telangana clientele.

Admission to State Level Institutions -- Injustice to Telangana:

Admission of students to various state level universities and institutions is regulated on the basis of allocation of seats made to three areas in the State demarcated for this purpose. They are: Andhra University area covering the Coastal Andhra region, excluding Nellore district; SV University area consisting of the Rayalaseema region plus Nellore district; and, Osmania University area comprising the entire Telangana region. Therefore, Telangana’s rightful share in all these institutions should be 40.69% of the total number of seats available. But, ironically, it is restricted to only 36%; and it has been going on for decades.

The questions that arise out of this scenario are:

Can anyone assess and compensate the loss caused all these years to the youth of Telangana in the field of education, especially higher and professional education?

What would be its impact if this unjust and irrational formula continues to be operational even in the years to come?