IIIT Basara students protest against TRS government

Students of IIIT (Triple IT) at Basara are on agitation for the third consecutive day demanding proper food, labs and other learning facilities, even as the opposition BJP has criticised the K Chandrasekhar Rao government for neglecting the education sector in Telangana.

Water supply was allegedly cut off to the campus on Thursday with some students saying that officials threatened to stop electricity too if they do not withdraw from their protests.

Officially known as the Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies, the Telangana government-run tech education institution has had no full-time Vice-Chancellor for several years now.

Students allege that their complaints about inadequate labs, library and other learning facilities and the appearance of dead frogs, insects etc in the hostel food has not been resolved till now.

Students say they are not being provided with the mandated laptops, uniforms, and several hostels, college buildings are reportedly in shambles, lacking proper beds, fans etc facilities.

Hundreds of the harried students have boycotted classes and taken to protests from Tuesday, sitting on a protest at the administrative office and later taking it to the main entrance of the campus.

The students released a charter of 12 demands including recruitment of teachers, the appointment of full-time VC who can promptly attend to their grievances, provision of internet, projectors etc equipment in the class rooms and importantly hygienic food.

“To be honest, most of the student demands are genuine. The tensions were allowed to simmer for months now with even complaints like frogs, insects in food also not addressed. Established with the aim of becoming a pioneer in government-run tech institutions, the Basara IIIT is suffering due to lack of funds, and thereby proper management,” an official of the Telangana education department told DH, on the condition of anonymity.

The RGUKT or IIIT Basara was one of the three IIITs started in united AP in 2008 during the YS Rajasekhara Reddy regime and is now the only one in Telangana. It is located at Basara, a town famous for its Goddess Saraswati temple on the River Godavari banks in Nirmal district of north Telangana. It has about 8000 inmates. Meritorious students make the entry with weightage given to those coming from government schools.

Despite the authorities and police allegedly threatening them with arrests, and booking cases, students are demanding that either Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao or his son, IT-Industries and municipal administration minister KT Rama Rao should visit their campus to put an end to their woes.

KTR reacted on Twitter assuring students that “we are committed to resolving any challenges with respect to improving the quality of education.”

However, matters precipitated on Thursday with education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy purportedly terming the student demands as “silly.”

“While students are braving the sun and rain pleading for basic facilities so that they can study properly, the education minister is jeering at them, stating their demands as silly,” said T-BJP leader Dharmapuri Arvind.

While various students unions have extended support to the agitation, some of the concerned parents who assembled at the campus were reportedly packed off by the police.

“There is a distressing situation in Basara IIIT! Students are locked inside the campus and water supply is cut off and threatened that electricity supply will also be cut! Students are being treated like criminals without human rights,” the Nizamabad Lok Sabha MP tweeted.