Harish Rao Demands Withdrawal of Order Merging Polytechnic Colleges With Skills University

Former minister T Harish Rao has demanded that the state government immediately withdraw GO No. 97, which mandates the merger of 59 government polytechnic colleges with the Young India Skills University.

Speaking at the Subedari police station in Hanumakonda on Thursday, while travelling to support protesting students at the Warangal polytechnic college, Harish Rao strongly opposed the merger and condemned the administration's actions against student demonstrators.

Harish Rao stated that the state government was acting in an extremely harsh manner toward polytechnic students who were peacefully protesting against the proposed integration of polytechnic education with the Skills University.

He alleged that Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy was ruthlessly suppressing student voices, highlighting that police cases were being registered against them alongside emerging allegations of physical mistreatment. He questioned why students fighting to protect their academic future were being treated harshly by authorities.

Raising concerns over the structure of the institution, Harish Rao pointed out that the proposed Skills University operates on a public-private partnership model. He warned that bringing government polytechnic institutions under this framework could ultimately amount to the privatisation of polytechnic education in the state.