Counseling Ahead

About 288 private engineering and management colleges in the state are upgrading the prescribed infrastructure in order to be eligible for participating in the counseling process, which is expected to be announced soon after results of EAMCET 2015 are released by the state government.

These college managements are going through a tough time as the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTUH) officials are conducting inspections at these colleges for some time.

These inspections may continue for some more time as JNTU officials are taking extra care to draw inference based on the earlier fact-finding reports prepared by them and the current status of infrastructure in these colleges. It is learnt that around 30 engineering colleges have voluntarily chosen not to participate in the counseling.

Telangana engineering and professional colleges association chairman N Goutham Rao said that AICTE has already approved about 288 colleges to participate in the counseling, however they were awaiting the JNTUH inspection reports. “Once the inspection report is completed, mostly within a week, most of these colleges would be part of the counseling process,” he said.

The college managements have been raising questions over the way JNTUH officials have been conducting inspection and eventually depriving them of admissions. These colleges have secured the approval of AICTE after several rounds of court cases over the past one year.

With the inspection reports yet to be finalised, it is unclear as to how many colleges, the number of courses and seats would be allowed by JNTUH inspection during the 2015-16 academic year.

On the other hand, JNTUH registrar and EAMCET-15 convener N V Ramana Rao said that it was too early to come to any conclusion about the number of colleges at this moment.

He said, “We have been carrying out inspections at some of the colleges where the standards were not maintained. We are examining aspects like infrastructure, academic and technical requirements necessary to impart quality higher education.”

Rao said that after the announcement of counseling date by the deputy chief minister Kadiyam Srihari, the inspection report would be uploaded on the JNTUH website.

About 1.28 lakh students have attempted the EAMCET 2015 engineering examination that was conducted earlier this month. The volume of engineering students opting for engineering would depend on the pass percentage in the test.

Last year, about 50,000 engineering seats were left vacant even though the participating engineering colleges were less in number.  

Medical Fee Revised

 Telangana government on Wednesday revised fee structure of various categories of private, unaided medical and dental colleges in the State for academic year 2015-16. It has also mandated the college managements to follow the latest instructions. After a series of sittings with managements of medical colleges, the government has decided to fill 50 per cent seats under A category, cancelling the 10 per cent seats under B category. 

State government has increased fee for management and NRI quota seats in private medical and dental colleges

The government has also decided to fill the seats by 35 per cent in B category under management quota and 15 per cent of seats under C category. The government announced the amended fee structure category-wise which includes Rs 60,000 for A category, Rs 9 lakh for B category and Rs 11 lakh for C category. Thus, the State government increased fee for management and NRI quota in private medical and dental colleges. 

These orders are applicable to private unaided non-minority medical/dental professional institutions in the State, and shall come into force with immediate effect. Government mandated that private medical colleges have to notify admissions on the website of the college. Category A convener quota seats will be filled by government. The colleges need to publish admission details in leading newspapers. 

Member secretary of Admission and Fee Regulatory Committee will supervise the conduct of admissions. All applications must be uploaded on Kaloji Narayan Rao Health University website.

Osmania University Boils Yet Again

 Osmania University is burning again as the students protest Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao’s decision on the alienation of the University land for construction of houses to the poor. The students are firm to see that the government goes back on its word and are planning a series of agitations to achieve their objective. What further enraged the students was KCR’s announcement to construct houses on the campus land notwithstanding their protests. 

The students, who were already seething with anger over the government’s delay in taking up the recruitment to the government jobs are further outraged with the CM’s latest announcement. Telangana Unemployed Youth JAC chairman G Kalyan said, “Our slogan now is KCR Hatavo OU Bachavo. We will fight against the decision of government and will not let go an inch of the Osmania University at any cost.”

He said that nowhere in the world, residential housing complexes are constructed in the university campuses. “The government’s decision on providing the campus lands to the poor is a humiliation to the students who have fought a fierce battle in Telangana movement,” he expressed, further adding, “the students have sacrificed their education, career, time and abilities for the cause of Telangana and now KCR is watering down the dreams of students.” 

If government wants to take any construction, they must house academic and research institution, not residential houses, he suggested. Another student leader K Satish said that the CM’s negligence on implementing the promises has saddened them though he has ridden to the power on the wave of Telangana movement. He said that even the happiness of their on achieving statehood to Telangana has gone.

“KCR is deliberately encouraging another round of movement in the OU campus by taking irrational decisions. The government’s attitude is spoiling the atmosphere of the campus,” he alleged. When the university was established in 1939, it was spread on 2,032 acres and is now shrunk to 1,400 acres. About 300 acres was leased out to various institutions. A larger chunk of the land at OU is already occupied by the APSRTC Hospital, Institute of Public Enterprises, Hyderabad Public School, a Huda and other private parties including a slum.

Meanwhile, Congress senior leader V Hanumanth Rao slammed Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao for being adamant on giving the Osmania University land to housing programme. Speaking to media persons, he suggested that the Chief Minister should abstain from taking over 11 acres of the varsity land in the best interest of the students. Hanumanth Rao alleged that the Chief Minister was trying to take over the lands instead of protecting them from land grabbers. 

About 50 per cent of lands of the varsity were encroached upon by some vested interested elements, he said. If necessary, the Chief Minister can make use of vacant land allotted to SEZs and big companies in the twin cities, the senior Congress leader suggested. On the other hand BJP leader Nagam Janardhan Reddy also opposed KCR’s plans to use OU land for housing scheme for the poor. 

Why the Pension Scheme Crippling

Special category pension beneficiaries in the State have been suffering following loopholes in the assessment and distribution of disability certificates. The whole process has been facilitated by Software for Assessment of Disabled Access Rehabilitation and Empowerment (SADAREM) across the state for quite some time under the watchful eyes of the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP).

After the State government announced its intention to increase pension benefits to disabled persons three-fold in October 2014, the disability certificates issued by SADAREM were made compulsory for the beneficiary to receive pension. However, there have been several hundred cases in which the certificates have not been issued though their disability was assessed by medical-officers. In the city, about six SADAREM camps have been functioning to assess and issue certificate to beneficiaries. 

Several beneficiaries could not get earlier pension amounts following laxity in disbursing certificates by the service provider concerned. Anjamma from Karwan area, partially paralysed, did not get her disability certificate though her physical assessment was done in July 2014. She said that SADAREM operators advised her to visit her concerned MRO office but it did not yield any result. She has not been able to trace the certificate. 

Similarly one Pasha from Asifnagar, who has been running for pillar to post to get his certificate from the SADAREM, said that even after two months of the assessment, the certificate was not issued to him.
SADAREM operators claim that the assessment has been going on in a smooth manner and disbursement has been completed with only few certificates left for disposal. 

SADAREM service providers say that certificates of disability are generated at the same hospital where the assessment is done and laminated certificates are sent to the Collector office to be sent to beneficiaries through speed post. As per the information provided by SADAREM, from the six camps in the city about 8,784 handicapped people have been assessed, of which 7,002 stood eligible. About 800 certificates have been kept for disbursement with the SADAREM operators, sources said. 

Sources in the SERP said after loopholes came to light, awareness was being generated through flexies and people have been asked to register their complaints if they face any difficulties. SADAREM operators have not been uploading pictures of issued certificates on the website which sends alert to the beneficiary, sources allege. Vikalangula Hakkula Porata Samithi leader K Rambabu blamed SADAREM operators for delay and difficulties faced by beneficiaries.

Tribute to Mothers

Even as Mother’s Day is being celebrated with pomp and gaiety on Sunday across the world, here is a story about the silent suffering of nearly 60 mothers who arrive in the city every day at Purani Haveli to get safe blood for their children from the Thalassemia Sickle Cell Society.

These mothers, young and old, flock to the city from far off places in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana every fortnight to help their Thalassemia children get a fresh dose of blood transfusion. There are nearly 2,500 mothers who arrive here every month to see a healthy smile of the face of their wards.

Some of them have been coming down to the city for as long as nine years. They have proved that every day needs to be observed as Mother’s Day, given the strong sense of bonding and selflessness towards their children who are suffering from the rare blood disorder.

These mothers visit the center, exclusively working for Thalassemia patients, once every fortnight for blood transfusion. Sharing their travails, a young mother Raheema Begum from Jagtial town of Karimnagar district, said she has been bringing her eight-year-old Thalassemia positive son Shadul for the past seven years for keeping her son alive.

She said that her son needs blood once or twice every fortnight and she has to rush to city for blood. “If I delay even for two days, my boy starts fainting and he turns pale,” she said.

The ongoing RTC staff strike has become a curse on such families who cannot afford alternative means of transport. Kacheguda, the nearest railway station that is well connected by public transport is nearly 4 km away and parents of these ailing children are being forced to cough up large sums because of the exorbitant rates being charges by auto drivers.

Another mother, Lakshmi Devi, a native of Eluru, arrived in the city along with her Thalassemia positive seven-year-old son Uday Kumar. She too shared similar woes and has been visiting the city once every month for the past five years.

She said, “We have to take the patient to the city for getting blood for them as it is a rare disease and only blood donated by people will save his life. Whether it’s Bus strike or any other strike we cannot wait for things to turn favorable for us.”

Another woman, who too shares a similar name, Lakshmi Devi, is a resident of Kadapa town, has been bringing her nine-year-old grand-daughter Sreeja for blood transfusion to the city for nearly five years.

The Thalassemia Sickle Cell Society formed by the parents of Thalassemia positive children in the city has been providing safe blood to nearly 2,500 registered patients from across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Society secretary Aleem Baig, whose two daughters are also Thalassemia positive, said that procuring safe blood and proper funds were some of the major challenges being faced by them.

He said that lack of awareness on marriages among close relatives in the family has been identified as a major reason for Thalassemia.

He called upon all young women before marriage to go in for a pathological test called Hb A2 to identify whether they are a carrier of the disease. If a marriage is performed between two carriers, it may result in children with Thalassemia, he said.

More Examinations under the ambit of TSPSC

 Mohammed Younus
To ensure transparency in all recruitments being proposed by the State government, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao is contemplating to bring 17 departments which were not under the ambit of Telangana State Public Service Commission.

Recruitment to these 17 departments was not being carried out by the commission for a long time following decisions taken by successive governments for a variety of reasons in 1986 and 2003. These departments were detached from the commission through legislations and other means adopted by the government. The categories of the posts that were removed from list of Public Service Commission include the posts of Gazetted to Junior Assistant and Typist in subordinate courts. The issue was brought to the notice of Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Kadiyam Srihari on several occasions with a plea to pursue the matter with the Chief Minister.

In addition, several rounds of discussions were also held with the Public Service Commission officials on ways to conduct recruitment exams.
It is learnt that the CM has expressed his willingness to see that recruitments are carried out only through the PSC, as is the practice in Kerala. An official in TSPSC informed that this move would increase transparency in the recruitment process and there would be fair deal for all. He said, “If the recruitment procedures are fair then the State will definitely prosper and get accolades.”

Currently, the responsibility of TSPSC is to conduct about 150 different recruitment tests, including departmental tests. It is learnt that the commission is ready with the ‘scheme of examination’ for 137 different competitive examinations.

The recruitments that do not come under the purview of TSPSC include School Assistants, Sub-Inspector of Police (Civil), Group IV services, Civil Assistant Surgeons in Medical & Health Services, Veterinary Assistant Surgeons in Animal Husbandry department, School Assistant in Panchayat Raj institutions, Civil Judges, Excise Inspectors, Assistant Professors in Medical & Health Services and several others.

Interestingly, the commission could not take up the recruitment of one category, but can recruit employees of another category within the same department. The recruitment for School Assistants is done by the School Education Department constituted District Selection Committees (DSC), Sub-Inspectors is done by Police Recruitment Board and so on.

HMR to Create Opportunities

The prestigious Hyderabad Metro Rail project is all set to create a variety of jobs and opportunities to both skilled and un-skilled people, including educated youth and small entrepreneurs from the State. With works going on the fast track, the Metro rail authorities exude confidence that the project would create a huge employment along all the metro corridors in the city.

The highly sophisticated Metro stations would not only be equipped with latest technology for ticketing, travel, security and other purposes but the vicinities of each station would have different look with different street furniture. Out of several proposed elevated stations, works at Nagole Metro station are completed which is equipped with state of the art technologies of monitoring ticket vending, crowd, passage and train operations. 

However, other stations like NGRI, Mettuguda, Habsiguda and others neared completion. Hyderabad Metro Rail managing director N V S Reddy said while providing easy and fast mode of transport to the denizens in the city, the Metro rail would also create huge number of opportunities for both educated and semi educated youth. He said, “While educated youth can be accommodated directly into the operations of Metro rail based on their technical qualifications, chances for entrepreneurs would galore at each railway station.”

Each railway station would have street furniture, sitting space, eateries and vending space useful for the passengers and entrepreneurs, he informed. He said preference would be given to the locals in providing such spaces for business. Hyderabad Metro Rail has already recruited several youth having technical qualifications matching the needs of current functioning at under construction Metro tracks, depots and stations across the city.

So far, no concrete deadline was set up either by the State government or by HMR authorities. However, officials expressed confidence that the Metro rail would start functioning from early next year. N V S Reddy said, “Most probably, we would be able to start function by early next year tentatively. However, no deadline was set up by the government.”

Collection of Pictures from My desk

Telangana Universities Need Vice Chancellors

Mohammed Younus 
Even after 10 months of the State bifurcation, the Higher Education department is yet to form its own law for the universities, putting the process of appointing regular vice chancellors on the back burner. As a result the universities are functioning under in-charge arrangements with key decisions kept pending.

The process of adapting AP Laws, related to universities, would possibly take time of three to four months. State government has hinted that the adaption of AP Universities act would be done, along with the initiation of some changes. With respect to universities act, State government wanted to change the cumbersome process of appointing vice chancellors and replace it with a simple one. State government has recently appointed in-charge vice chancellors for some of the universities in the State.

Deputy Chief Minister Kadiam Srihari said that appointment of vice chancellors with full charge would be done as early as possible, by changing the old system considerably. He said, “Exercise for adapting the AP Universities act is going on and I hope it would be completed very soon. After that the appointment process would begin.” The process to appoint the vice chancellors to the universities as per the AP Universities Act is cumbersome and a lengthy procedure is needed. As per the procedure, State government and UGC would pick up names and a search committee would be formed to short list them. Search committee suggests three names to the government after assessment and then the government sends the list of selected candidates to the Governor for approval.

Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao many times had expressed his displeasure over this cumbersome procedure and desired amendments. Almost all the varsities are reeling under administrative pressure. Faculty organisations from various universities have also been demanding the appointment of permanent vice chancellors for a long time. University professor associations allege that State government had wasted time for one long year in deciding the procedure to appoint VCs. They felt that State government should have completed this task quite early to streamline the administration in the universities.

Bifurcation Blues Hit Telugu University

The functioning of Potti Sreeramulu Telugu University is likely to come to a standstill if decisions pertaining to admissions are not taken in the next 30 days. The confusion has arisen as the university, which is enlisted under 10th schedule of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014, is yet to release the notification for admissions.

-Even after bifurcation, the issue of admissions into the university could become a bone of contention for both the states as it is the only Telugu university in the then erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh. 
-The confusion has arisen as the university, which is enlisted under 10th schedule of the AP Reorganization Act 2014, is yet to release the notification for admissions

Generally, the admission notification is released in May every year, but nothing was done in this regard as on Thursday as the executive committee was yet to take a call. As per the Reorganization Act, the university would remain with Telangana. Though Telangana government decided to rename the varsity as Suravaram Pratap Reddy Telugu University, it has been kept on the back-burner for quite some time.

The university was established to function as a central organization for teaching and research in language and literature, history and culture, fine arts and performing arts, religion and philosophy of the Telugu speaking people. In a recent move, the State government has appointed former vice chancellor E Siva Reddy as the in-charge VC. 

Even after bifurcation, the issue of admissions into the university could become a bone of contention for both the states as it is the only Telugu university in the then erstwhile combined Andhra Pradesh. The university has a sanctioned strength of 115 teachers, out of which 65 posts are vacant. On the other hand, the sanctioned non-teaching posts are 70, out of which 20 are vacant. Among the teaching staff, only 24 belong to Telangana and 26 belong to Andhra Pradesh. 

The division of employees could also result in friction between both the States. There are five campuses of Telugu University, namely Lalita Kalathoranam in Hyderabad, Nannaya Pranganam in Rajahmundry, Palkuriki Somanatha Pranganam in Srisailam, Potana Pranganam in Warangal and Shri Siddhendra Yogi Pranganam in Kuchipudi (Krishna district). Strangely, the future of these affiliates is also unclear.