Hyderabad: Tensions have escalated at Osmania University's Arts College as students continue their protests demanding a postponement of the District Selection Committee (DSC) exam.
The demonstrations, which began late on Monday night, saw students staging sit-ins and attempting to rally on campus. The police, under the supervision of East Zone DCP Giridhar, detained several protesters and maintained a heavy presence to manage the situation. Close to 70 protesters were detained on Monday near Khairatabad, and about 20 others on Tuesday on the OU campus.
Aspirants at the protest on Tuesday morning, speaking to Deccan Chronicle, said they felt betrayed by the Congress, which they supported in the recent Assembly elections.
"The Congress won with the votes of unemployed youth but now ignored our demands," lamented one aspirant.
The primary demand of the protestors is to defer the DSC exam by three months to allow for adequate preparation time. The DSC exams are scheduled between July 18 and August 5, with Group 2 exams following closely on August 7 and 8.
The tight schedule, according to students, leaves little room for effective preparation, risking their chances of success. They argue that the DSC syllabus is as extensive as the UPSC exams and that there are no adequate books or preparation resources available.
Through the DSC exam, the government seeks to recruit School Assistants, Language Pandits, Secondary Grade Teachers (SGT), Physical Education Teachers, and Special Education Teachers at both primary and secondary levels.
In a dramatic turn of events, students burned effigies of Revanth Reddy, expressing their anger and frustration over "not paying heed to their demands."
Congress leaders poured water over the burning effigy. The intense demonstrations have led to multiple detentions as police tried to maintain order on the campus. "We are demanding our rights, but instead, we are being treated like criminals," said another protestor.
However, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said that some parties and coaching centres are conspiring to disrupt the DSC exams, which are slated to fill over 11,000 teaching posts in government and local body schools across Telangana.
He claimed that some coaching centres want the exams postponed to benefit their businesses.
"For the sake of their businesses, some coaching centre owners met me to request postponements," said Revanth Reddy.
He challenged opposition leaders to join the protests if they truly believe in the students' cause, suggesting that prominent figures like K.T. Rama Rao and Harish Rao should sit in protest alongside the students if they support the postponement demand.
Revanth Reddy reaffirmed the government's commitment to conducting the exams as scheduled and ensuring that teacher recruitment progresses without further delays. He emphasised that the government's priority is to fill the teacher vacancies promptly to improve the quality of education in the state.
