One thing that is for sure is that reading of newspapers or watching news on television is not a pleasant exercise. Even more so if you belong to the State of Andhra Pradesh. Before writing further I would like to let you all know that I still continue to think about what way in which education can be reformed in this country and in the State of Andhra Pradesh. If you are wondering why that comment came in suddenly, here is the explanation. I had promised quite a few days ago that I will find a solution for the providing of free, fair and quality education to all citizens of this country through the State. Just when I thought that I had a solution in mind, I have seen that politics in the country and more so in Andhra Pradesh have taken a turn for the worse, thereby undermining the institutions of the State and ultimately the State itself. This made it abundantly clear to me that reform process must begin in politics and not so much in the way in which education is being provided. Imagine entrusting education solely to the State when politics, bureaucracies, political institutions and educational institutions function without any accountability. What we get then, will surely be worse than what we have today. I am not making a volte-face and supporting a system of privately provided education. The profit motive will ensure that the private education providers will be more concerned about bottom lines in monetary terms rather than education. In private hands education will remain a mere commodity that is for sale. I have been critical of Dr. Y. S. Rajashekar Reddy's fee re-imbursement scheme saying that it is not the responsibility of the State to ensure the profitability of educational institutions. Today we are confronted by a situation where the privately run MBA, MCA and engineering colleges are threatening to shut down indefinitely if the fees are not re-imbursed.
Now that is indeed a problem for students since the State is not in a position to pay the educational institutions since its finances are in tatters, owing largely to ill-conceived policies. In this situation, where there seems to be a stand off between the State and the private colleges, students will lose; they will lose time, money, prospects of employment and their morale. In this situation now consider the role of politics.. The Congress party is one side, while the opposition, including Dr. Y. S. Rajashekar Reddy's son, Mr. Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy and the Telugu Desam Party are on the other. Battles lines are clearly drawn. The opposition insists on payment of the fees to the colleges and the government wants time and lessening of the fee amount. This becomes even more interesting if you factor in the separate Telangana issue. One can state unequivocally that the biggest issue facing Andhra Pradesh is the separate Telangana issue. I have already stated in a post some time back that all political parties and politicians backed themselves into their own holes with no way out by taking a stance which will not recognize the recommendations of the Sri Krishna Committee. The Congress and the Telugu Desam, as I have been repeatedly emphasizing are home to pro-separate Telangana and pro-united Andhra Pradesh and that is indeed a great source of inconvenience to their leaders. Mr. N. Chandra Babu Naidu has remained silent on the issue of a separate Telangana or has only made vague statements. Mr. Y.S. Jaganmohan Reddy, is known to have rushed into the well of the Lok Sabha and argued vociferously for a united Andhra Pradesh. With the separate Telangana issue becoming the centre of politics in Andhra Pradesh, both these leaders face the prospect of being forgotten if they do not do something to remain in the public eye.
Therefore in the past couple of months we see that both leaders have been using other issues as diversionary tactics. Mr. N. Chandra Babu Naidu, at the peak of the separate Telangana agitation last year was found making attempts to draw the attention of the Union Government and of the people to the issue of Obulapuram mines. Then he espoused the cause of farmers, about whom he had forgotten or did not bother to care, during his tenure as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. He even undertook a fast, a weapon which was never of his choice anywhere in his political career. Not to be outdone, Mr. Jaganmohan Reddy organized a rally to draw the attention of the Union Government to the plight of the poor farmers. He even organized a fast of one lakh people for two days. And now that the fee re-imbursement issue has come out into the open they are still trying to divert attention by making that the main issue. In this instance, I will refrain from making any comments on the separate Telangana issue, for my views on this are known to my readers (I believe in unity both symbolically and really because this issue has ramifications for the whole nation) and talk about the politics that surround the fee re-imbursement issue.
I think one can begin with the assumption that neither the Telugu Desam nor the Jagan group are too seriously bothered about the students. The scheme itself was hurriedly initiated by the Congress party during the elections of the year 2009, without doing any ground work on it. It was therefore an ad hoc policy, one among many such. That ad hoc ism has landed Andhra Pradesh in financial difficulties that seem to elude a solution unless all parties come together in order to find a solution. But given the competitive nature of politics and the attempts at one-up-manship , that situation is inconceivable. With the non-cooperation movement on and with a call for a two-day bandh to come into effect the day after tomorrow and a call for laying siege to the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly tomorrow, the financial losses to the Andhra Pradesh government will be in huge amounts. To a financially beleaguered State that is not good news. It is even worse news for students, because it means that the problem of fee re-imbursement will get dragged on for a few more days. It is especially poignant and sad because the sufferers are students who come from backward and economically and socially down trodden groups. Competitive politics have reduced State institutions to arenas of conflict escalation rather than settlement. In such a scenario, there may be winners and losers in politics but in society and in this case among students more specifically, there will only be losers.
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