Hyderabad: Members of the Save Education Committee have demanded that the Telangana govt re-examine its proposal to establish Young India Integrated Schools and, instead, strengthen the existing schools run by the state to provide quality education to all.

In an open letter to chief minister A Revanth Reddy, professors K Chakradhara Rao, G Haragopal, and K Laxminarayana said setting up integrated schools would benefit only a few, and asked the state to drop the proposal. “We agree with the government’s response of bringing radical changes in the education system and eradicating poverty by providing education to all. However, it is a matter of debate as to what kind of education policy should be brought in to achieve these goals,” Rao said.

Referring to the recent announcement by the CM about establishing integrated schools, they said the state should strengthen 30,000 schools, 300 colleges, and 17 universities, instead of taking thousands of crores on loan to establish new ones. “Instead of developing the existing educational institutions in the public sector in a holistic manner, the state is making new decisions that will benefit only a few,” the letter read.

They said the state should first come up with a clear plan to provide quality education to all primary students, improve infrastructure in schools and colleges, and fill vacant teaching posts. “We also insist that 20% of the budget be allocated to the education sector, without which all promises will be empty,” said Laxminarayana.