CCSAP Report - Ministry of Home Affairs

3.8.10 The Committee feels that the state government must concentrate
on providing quality education to students. The Committee noticed (see sub-para
3.7.09) that there are very few government funded engineering colleges (only
3%) and, therefore, recommends that more government engineering colleges
may be started in all regions and particularly in Telangana outside of Hyderabad.
Suitable emphasis must be laid on quality improvement and skill development.
Additionally, education offered by private institutions needs to be better
monitored by the state government. In order to develop competitiveness in the
market, it may be a good idea to introduce English as a language at an early
stage in government schools.
3.8.11 Field visits brought out that many students with higher education
qualifications in Telangana are first generation college entrants (from rural
families and whose parents are illiterate) and therefore have very high
expectations of finding well paying jobs, in particular, in the government/public
sector. It seems that it is the inability of such graduates to fulfill their aspirations
that is responsible for their disappointment, disillusionment and frustration. Such
students are likely to turn to those who promise them a better future. Large scale
involvement of students including those from Dalits and Backward Castes in the
current movement for Telangana seems to testify to this. A large proportion of
student leaders of the movement located in Osmania and Kakatiya Universities is
known to be from Dalit/BC background. According to many sources, purported
student suicides during the course of the agitation are also largely by Dalit and
Backward Caste students. While lack of suitable employment is rarely due to
discrimination and more due to lack of adequate training, the perception of
neglect or discrimination needs to be addressed in order to bring students back
into the mainstream. Improving the quality of education and solving the problem
of unemployment among educated youth will have a positive impact on their
attitude towards agitations.
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