Latest news with #Gurukuls
India Today
11 hours ago
- General
- India Today
Empty classrooms: No new enrolment for third year in Telangana government school
Is a school really a school if there are no students and no classes? That is the story of a government school in Telangana's Khammam district, where a once-thriving Zilla Parishad High School hasn't seen a single student enrolment this academic school in question is located in Astnagurthy village (also known as Asnagurthi), in Wyra Mandal, about 38 km from Khammam district headquarters. The school, which is about 193 km east-southeast of the capital Hyderabad, is now facing an existential crisis — the disturbing trend of no new enrolment since the past three years having three teachers, including a headmistress posted at the school last year, not one student showed up. Teachers would attend school daily, only to return without conducting a single class. Eventually, they were deputed to other schools while continuing to draw their salaries under the Astnagurthy school's payroll. This year, the situation remains unchanged. Over the past week, the three posted teachers have been regularly attending the school and returning home each day, even though no students are on the rolls. Their salaries range from Rs 80,000 to over Rs 90,000 per month, costing the government nearly Rs 3 lakh per month — and over Rs 40 lakh annually — to run a school without students.A ONCE-CROWDED SCHOOL NOW DESERTEDThis institution, established in 1976, once served as an educational hub for 10–15 surrounding villages. During the 1990s, more than 1,000 students studied here. In fact, gaining admission used to require recommendations due to high over the years, numbers dwindled drastically. Parents began favoring private schools, and the government itself promoted residential educational institutions like Gurukuls. These factors led to a dramatic fall in despite being equipped to teach students from classes 6 to 10, and requiring at least 11 teachers for full-fledged operations, the school is being run with just three teachers — and not a single SUPPORT SCHOOL BUT IN VAINIronically, several former students of the school have gone on to become government employees and NRIs. A few of them, nostalgic about their school days, donated 20 computers, a TV, and furniture to support the school's revival. But their goodwill has yet to attract a single villagers, including Hari Koteshwer Rao, expressed frustration, stating that the lack of adequate teaching staff in recent years pushed parents to send their children elsewhere. Anwar, a Hindi teacher, and Chandrashekar, a science teacher, echoed similar pointed out that earlier, the school had enough teachers to run all classes smoothly. But successive staff transfers and lack of fresh appointments led to a trust deficit among parents. As a result, the school fell into decline.
Hans India
27-05-2025
- Politics
- Hans India
‘600 Gurukul Schools unable to run over unpaid rents'
Hyderabad: State BJP chief spokesperson NV Subhash questioned the State government that while Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy is campaigning for 'Rising Telangana', in reality, people are experiencing a 'Falling Telangana.' Addressing the media on Monday, he said that before the Congress party came to power, Revanth Reddy, the then-PCC president made numerous promises to students, and repeatedly assured them that he would fulfill them after coming to power. Unfortunately, many of these commitments have not been implemented, leading to feelings of betrayal among the students. Students and parents are protesting the closure of over 600 Gurukul schools in the state. The buildings housing these Gurukul schools have been locked by their owners due to unpaid rental fees for the past 10 months. Consequently, the state government is fully responsible for this situation, as it has failed to allocate adequate funds in the budget for education, ignoring the issues faced by the Gurukul schools. The future of 7 lakh students is now at risk, and the government must settle approximately Rs 215 crore in rental dues. The owners of 63 Gurukuls have issued notices to vacate the premises. He said the education department employees are struggling due to unpaid salaries, and nearly 1,800 government schools in the state are being closed down. In contrast, the Narendra Modi government's efforts to establish better educational institutions, like Navodaya and Sainik Schools across the country, including Telangana. Furthermore, the appointments in the state's universities are poorly managed, leaving many positions vacant and causing students to seek education in other states. The state government has made promises but failed to clear fee reimbursements for students in engineering and other professional colleges, resulting in protests from students and parents. Thousands of faculty positions remain unfilled in universities, indicating that education in the state is in disarray. These developments have left the future of the students uncertain. There is a demand for the state government to take immediate action to settle the dues, reopen the Gurukul schools, clear the fee reimbursement arrears, and reopen the closed government schools.
Hans India
09-05-2025
- General
- Hans India
APBRAGCET
Minister Sri Bala Veeranjaneyaswamy announced the results of the Dr. BR Ambedkar Gurukal Entrance Examination (APBRAGCET - 2025) on Friday morning. Organised by the Social Welfare Department, the examinations were held for admissions to Class V and Intermediate levels. In the Class V entrance examinations, Kadavala Sumati from Kurnool district secured the top rank, followed by Viyyapu Sarath from Anakapalle in second place. Boya Vidya, also from Kurnool district, achieved the third rank. For the Intermediate entrance examinations, Raghupathi Geethika from Visakhapatnam district attained the first rank. Two students from Kurnool district, Ipuru Suhruti and Pinjari Hasina, secured the second and third ranks, respectively. During the results announcement, Minister Veeranjaneyaswamy noted the increasing trust in Gurukul schools among the populace. He revealed plans by Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu to expand seat availability in Gurukuls and emphasized the government's commitment to enhancing facilities for students. Improvements include the implementation of a mechanised system and the provision of cosmetic kits. Additionally, the Minister stated intentions to introduce career counselling for students, aiding them in laying a solid foundation for their futures.
