Leaders of Student Unions’ JAC have blamed the government for the spurt in incidence of suicide among students in the State and sought an inquiry by a High Court judge into the issue.
Criticising HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao for stating that the students were resorting to the extreme step either due to family disputes or love affair, the leaders demanded that Mr. Srinivasa Rao and Municipal Administration Minister P. Narayana be immediately removed from the Cabinet.
Participating in the round-table conference organised by the SFI, the AISF, the YSRSU, and the PDSU here on Sunday, CPI State secretary K. Ramakrishna attributed the situation to the government treating education as a business sector.
“The government should be held responsible. Action should be taken against the managements of Narayana and Sri Chaitanya colleges,” Mr. Ramakrishna said.
Extending his support to the bandh of private and corporate educational institutions on Monday, CPI (M) State Secretariat member Y. Venkateshwarlu said the government should initiate action against the private and corporate colleges that were flouting norms and mounting pressure on the students.
PDSU State president A. Ravichandra said the government should ensure that the private and corporate educational institutions followed the list of holidays declared by the government and did not conduct classes on holidays. YSR Students’ Union leader D. Anji Reddy demanded that the government close all the hostels being run without permission.
SFI State vice-president M. Mahesh demanded that the reports of the Neeradareddy and Chakrapani committees on student suicides be made public. The JAC also sought a probe into the student suicides in RGUKT-Nuzvid IIIT.