DC special: AP split a boon for education

Hyderabad: Andhra Pradesh is known as the hub for producing toppers in competitive exams. It is also one of the top states in the country in terms of having the highest number of professional colleges, universities and institutes of international repute such as ISB, IIT, IIIT, and Nalsar etc. Be it UPSC civil services exam, IIT-JEE, AIEEE, JEE (Main), JEE (Advanced), AIIMS, JIPMER or for that matter any competitive exam of national importance, students from AP come out with flying colours by bagging top ranks every year.

Will the two Telugu-speaking states continue to dominate in the education field post bifurcation? According to academic experts, the bifurcation will only increase the dominance of Telugu people on the national academic scene with the establishment of more top educational institutions such as IIT, IIM, and AIIMS etc. in the residuary state of Andhra Pradesh.

R. Mutyalaraju from the remote Chinna Gollapalem village in Krishna district had created a sensation by topping the Civil Service Exam in 2006 at the national level. The honour had come AP’s way after a gap of 36 years. Since then, it has been a regular feature in Civils every year, with several students from AP securing top ranks.

Even in IIT-JEE, considered to be one of the toughest competitive exams in the world, AP students have been topping since 2010. Over 25 per cent seats in prestigious IITs and NITs are being secured by AP students every year.

“I don’t see any threat to the dominance of two Telugu-speaking states in the education sector post bifurcation of AP provided there is political stability and cordial relations between the respective state governments and people. In fact, each state has its own advantages.”  said Professor D.N. Reddy, member, University Grants Commission.

“Though Telangana is at an advantage with many top-level institutions situated in Hyderabad, it would not be a problem for Seemandhra as the city is going to serve as a joint capital for 10 years. Even the existing common admissions for professional and higher education courses will be continued for 10 years as per the draft Telangana Bill. In the meantime, the Centre has proposed to set up new IIT, IIM, NIT, AIIMS etc. in Seemandhra, which will give a further boost to that region,” he added.

Prof. Reddy opined that there was no immediate need to establish new colleges in both Telangana and Seemandhra regions since there were already an excess of colleges and if both the states wanted to excel in education, they would need to focus on quality rather than quantity. s“Despite having lakhs of seats in professional courses, it’s an irony that thousands of students from AP are migrating to other states, especially Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, to purse studies every year. This is because of poor standards in majority of the colleges in AP. Unless quality is improved, there is no point in increasing the number of colleges,” Prof. Reddy added further.

Professor K.C. Reddy, chairman, Rajiv Yuva-kiranalu Programme —the state government’s initiative to provide 15 lakh jobs for youth in private sector — who had played a crucial role in the establishment of IIT-Hyderabad in Medak, IIITs in Basar, Nuzividu and Idupulapaya and a state university for each district during his term as APSCHE chairman between 2004 and 2010, said the mere establishment of new institutes like IITs and IIMs would not help students and job seekers in the new states after bifurcation.

“Setting up of IITs, IIMs will have a positive impact on the respective states but will not help students or job seekers. They are national-level institutes and don’t have local reservations. Though bifurcation will not affect the students in both the regions since each region has its own advantages and disadvantages, the respective states have to focus on developing the older universities such as Osmania, Andhra and Sri Venkateshwara into centres of excellence besides creating     the required infrastructure facilities for the private sector to expand. That will be helpful for students in the new states as it  will create additional education and employment opportunities,” Prof. K.C. Reddy said.

He, however, added that with the states becoming smaller after bifurcation, Andhra Pradesh will lose its prominence at the Centre. “Look at UP. We talk about the UP poll results dictating who will form the government at the Centre. It is because of its big numbers with regard to Lok Sabha seats. Similar is the case of Tamil Nadu, which secured several prestigious projects from the Centre by exerting political influence.

“We need to learn lessons from them. After bifurcation, both the states will have fewer Lok Sabha seats, which is not going to influence the Centre in these days of coalition governments,” Prof. Reddy remarked.

Meanwhile, college managements are apprehensive about the “common admissions policy” for 10 years in both the states after bifurcation.

“On one hand, the Centre says Article 371 (D) will be applicable in both the states after bifurcation. This will not allow students from one state to seek seats in the other state. Moreover, there is no clarity on whether common admissions will be considered only for GHMC limits or for the entire Telangana region. Unless the Centre hands over the education subject to the governor similar to law and order, it is not practically possible to conduct common admissions in both the states since respective state governments have full control over education,” said Mr Ramesh Nimmatoori, chairman of Aurora Group, which runs a chain of professional colleges in the city.

Mr Ramesh opined that unless the Centre gave clarity on Article 371(D) and on who would pay for the fee reimbursement scheme and scholarships for the existing students and freshers studying in and around Hyderabad for the next 10 years, it would lead to legal complications and disrupt the entire admission schedule. “The academic schedule has been hit due to political uncertainty over Telangana since 2009. It will lead to more troubles in future if contentious issues regarding admissions, fee reimbursement and scholarships are not addressed along with the passage of the T-Bill,” he cautioned.

Next: Students worried about employment

Students worried about employment

 
Hyderabad: While the provision in the draft Telangana Bill to continue with the existing common admission process in both the states after bifurcation for a period of 10 years has come as a relief for students, they are worried about employment opportunities, which are largely available in the private companies and organisations located in Hyderabad.

Seemandhra students fear that as “outsiders” they might not get the same opportunities in private organisations located in and around Hyderabad after bifurcation.

“The common admissions process for 10 years will help students from Seemandhra region to secure seats in some of the best colleges in the city, as is the case now. But after completing education, what about employment? All the major IT, ITeS, pharma, financial and banking institutions are located in Hyderabad. These companies recruit thousands of students from all parts of the state every year. Who will guarantee us jobs in these companies after bifurcation?” asked P. Avinash, a third year engineering student.

Though there is a provision in the Bill for implementing Article 371 (D) in both the states after bifurcation to provide quotas in education and employment, students are not happy with that.

“This provision pertains to jobs in the government sector. How many students actually opt for government jobs, which are very limited in number? It’s the private sector which employs 85 per cent of the students while it is just about 15 per cent in the case of government sector. The provision will not be applicable to private firms.” said D. Swapna Madhuri, a first year engineering student.

“What benefit do we get with this? How many years will it take to bring such a large number of private companies to a capital city in Seemandhra region?”  she questions.