TPF education campaign concludes with call to strengthen government schools

The Telangana People’s Front’s 12-day Vidya Bus Yatra reached its final leg at Gabbilalpet Government School in Jawaharnagar, Medchal-Malkajgiri, on Saturday. The campaign, which began on September 15, toured districts to draw attention to concerns in the education sector. The TPF team met parents of students at the school and held a badi nidra programme on Saturday night.

The primary school operates from rented premises and is the only government school serving an area with a population of about 50,000, according to the source material. The school was secured after parents campaigned for four years. On Sunday, the TPF organised a round-table discussion involving students, activists and non-governmental organisations on the condition of school education.

Participants sought targeted measures to reinforce public education and regulate the increasing cost of private schooling. Kavya, a first-generation learner from Jawaharnagar who studied at a Zilla Parishad High School, said children in the basti should not feel like “second-class citizens”. TPF member M.V.

Reddy said education could help people reach senior positions in society. He said candidates from non-elite backgrounds could also enter the All-India Services. On the demand for land to establish a Telangana Public School in Gabbilalpet, he said a negotiated solution should be found.

TPF member Champalal described education and healthcare as essential needs and said people should not continue struggling for basic education. He cited Telangana Public School in Arutla as an example of a government institution offering facilities and opportunities to first-generation learners. TPF leader Akunuri Murali said school education required revival and proposed an additional annual allocation of ₹6,000 crore for five years.

He said this would represent a small part of Telangana’s ₹3.24 lakh crore annual budget and called for parents to build pressure for action.