A remark by the grandson of Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on the poor condition of a government school, which he helped to renovate by raising Rs 90 lakh, has given critics ammunition against the BRS Government.
Speaking at the inauguration of a Mandal Parishad primary school at Keshavanagar in Serilingampally, Himanshu remarked that he came to tears after seeing the school that lacked even wash room for girl students.
The newly-renovated school was inaugurated by Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy only the other day on the occasion of Himanshu’s birthday.
As the clipping of his speech circulated on social media mostly BJP and Congress supporters took to Twitter to point out that Himanshu “exposed” the negligence to government schools in particular and the education sector in general.
Twitter users questioned the KCR-led government for celebrating the tenth anniversary of Telangana formation with all fanfare while the government institutions under the BRS are a picture of neglect. In an election year, this provided the much-needed ammunition to the Opposition even as the BRS handles went gaga over the initiative by Himanshu.
The students of the private school where Himanshu studied used to teach at the government school as part of their community outreach programme. After seeing the condition of the government-run institution, they decided to raise funds from students as well as through corporate social responsibility (CSR) scheme.
However, state Education Minister and a seasoned politician Sabitha Indra Reddy listed out various initiatives taken up by the BRS Government to improve the infrastructure of the government institutions including the recent “Mana ooru mana badi” scheme under which schools are being renovated and provided with additional facilities.
BRS workers and leaders, who were seemingly delighted by the role played by the third generation of the Kalvakuntla family, put up hoardings and cut-outs outside the school.
Meanwhile, ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana traded barbs over the education sector in their respective states. AP education minister Botsa Satyanarayana claimed that his state was way ahead of Telangana in education sector and that the neighbouring state was plagued by problems over transfers of teachers and question paper leaks and scam.
Telangana minister Srinivas Goud hit back saying pointing out that AP was still a capital less state. Hence, he said there can be no comparison between the two states.