Now Reading: Polytechnic students protest across Telangana against GO 97
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Polytechnic students protest across Telangana against GO 97
Polytechnic students escalated protests across Hyderabad and Telangana on Wednesday against GO 97, which places polytechnics under the SHAKTI department and Young India Skills University (YISU). Demonstrations took place at Ramanthapur, Secunderabad, and West Marredpally, with women students protesting at Sangeet X Roads. In Mahabubabad, videos showed police pushing back students attempting to enter the Collectorate, with some clips appearing to show an officer gripping students by the neck. Police took some ABVP leaders to a station after protesters moved onto the road in West Marredpally.
Students fear the move could weaken the State Board of Technical Education and Training (SBTET) and the Engineering Common Entrance Test (ECET) lateral entry route, which allows diploma holders to enter the second year of undergraduate engineering. Parent Basant said the diploma also opens government job opportunities and urged that academic options be protected. The SFI has called for a statewide polytechnic bandh on Thursday, limited to polytechnic colleges. The protests are aimed at the administrative change rather than an immediate cancellation of ECET, as TG ECET 2026 continues to provide an entrance route.
Indian Opinion Analysis
GO 97 shifts polytechnic colleges from the Board of Technical Education to YISU, a new university established with a public-private partnership model. Diploma holders in Telangana have long used ECET lateral entry as a cost-effective bridge to B.Tech degrees, especially for students from lower-income families. Any perceived threat to that pathway triggers anxiety about employability and upward mobility. SBTET currently governs curriculum, exams, and certification for over 200 government and private polytechnics. The key date to watch is the outcome of Thursday's bandh and any official clarification from the education department on whether ECET will remain unchanged under the new structure.
If students' fears prove unfounded, the agitation may fizzle, if the government signals any modification to lateral entry, the protests could widen. The confrontation in Mahabubabad also raises questions about police conduct, which could become a rallying point for opposition parties and student unions.
Source: deccanchronicle.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
