GO 97 protests grow; Congress offers assurances
Polytechnic students are demanding clarity on control, fees and ECET as protests continue across Telangana.
Students continue to seek clarity on GO 97, including fees, control and ECET.
Polytechnic students protesting GO 97 at Sangeet Junction in Secunderabad were reportedly detained or arrested by police on September 5, according to a report. The number of students and the legal basis for the action have not been made public in the material available.
The protest is part of a wider Telangana agitation against the reported plan to bring polytechnics under the Young India Skills University. Students want the institutions to remain with the State Board of Technical Education and Training and the Education Department. They have also sought clarity on fees, stipends, academic provisions, ECET and lateral entry into BTech courses.
The Congress government says students will retain lateral entry and that ECET will continue, a position reported by The New Indian Express. Students, meanwhile, say the wording of GO 97 raises questions. The order itself was not available on an official government website in the research reviewed, so its precise legal effect remains unverified.
The BRS has backed the demand to withdraw GO 97. A report also said KTR assured protesting students of support, though no direct statement or recording was available. The government has supplied reassurance; students are asking for the document. That is usually where reassurance starts looking underdressed.