On Wednesday, both private and government schools in the city of Telangana remained closed or switched to online learning. This was in response to a state-wide bandh call initiated by student organizations such as the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), AISF, and PDSU.
This is the second bandh call issued by student groups within a two-week period. Their main concerns include fee hikes, lack of fee regulation, and other issues within the state.
The Telangana Recognised School Managements Association (TRSMA) and its affiliated schools also participated in the bandh.
T Nagaraju, the state secretary of SFI, expressed his dissatisfaction with the government’s inaction towards the high fee hikes and donations imposed by corporate and private educational institutions. He stated that parents are being forced to pay large sums of money without any action being taken to address the issue. The protesters also drew attention to the lack of textbooks in Gurukul schools and the shortage of teachers in KGBV schools, which is negatively impacting students’ academic progress. To protest these issues, they staged a sit-in outside the residence of the education minister, Sabitha Indra Reddy.
However, the sudden announcement of the bandh received criticism from parents. Many schools sent notifications late at night, informing parents about the closure and online classes for senior students due to the SFI bandh.
One concerned parent, Maheswara Rao Valluri, questioned the effectiveness and impact of the bandh. He suggested that instead of resorting to bandhs, student concerns should be directly addressed to the relevant government departments and officials.
Another parent, Ridhima G, expressed her concerns on social media. She emphasized the need to address fee hikes but argued that bandhs would only result in students having to attend school on weekends to make up for missed classes due to the closure.