Nalgonda polytechnic students push back
Students and SFI rallied in Nalgonda against a plan the Telangana government floated in 2024 to bring polytechnics under Young India Skill University. Two years on, SBTET still runs 2026 admissions — the change, if any, isn’t on paper yet.
Polytechnic admissions continue under SBTET as the proposed affiliation change remains unclear.
Students from a government polytechnic in Nalgonda boycotted classes on Monday and protested outside the IT Tower on the Narketpally–Nalgonda road, according to a local report. The rally was organised by the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), which demanded the government drop any move to shift polytechnic colleges under Young India Skill University.
There is a paper trail for the worry. A state press release dated September 21, 2024 records the Chief Minister directing officials to “finalize modalities to bring the ITI/ATC and Polytechnic colleges under the purview of Young India Skill University,” and to plan Advanced Technology Centres in polytechnics. What there isn’t, in the material available, is a government order, statute change or implementation timetable.
Meanwhile the system in use is the one students enrolled for. The official POLYCET‑2026 booklet describes “Diploma-level programs offered by the State Board of Technical Education & Training” and lists admissions to government polytechnics affiliated to SBTET. Department data reported this season shows 17,001 of 18,538 seats in 59 government polytechnics were allotted in final counselling — government colleges filling while private ones trailed.
SFI state leader Mallam Mahesh argued the proposed shift could harm students’ futures; that position is theirs and has not been tested in any published order or scheme the government has put out. The district administration, SBTET and the college have not put a response on the record in what we saw. If Delhi’s favourite national parties — the BJP with its centralised “one-size skills” itch, and the Congress ever eager to rename rather than fund — want to help Telangana’s diploma students, they can start by backing clear rules and stable affiliations instead of barbs from the gallery.