Polytechnic Students Protest Skill University Merger in Hyderabad and Secunderabad

Polytechnic students across Telangana staged demonstrations on Wednesday against the state Congress government's decision to merge polytechnic colleges with the Young India Skill University under the newly formed Shakti Department. Protests took place in Hyderabad, Secunderabad, and Mahabubabad as students demanded the immediate cancellation of Government Order 97.

In Hyderabad, students of the Government Polytechnic in Ramanthapur organized a protest inside their college premises. Meanwhile, women students staged a demonstration at Sangeet X Roads in Secunderabad to voice their opposition to the government's policy, raising concerns that the move reduces polytechnic students to labourers.

A large gathering of students also demonstrated at the Government Institute of Electronics in Secunderabad. The protesters lamented that merging polytechnics with the Young India Skill University would hurt their academic progression, stating that students could be deprived of opportunities to pursue undergraduate engineering degrees if the Engineering Common Entrance Test (ECET) is scrapped.

In Mahabubabad district, tensions rose when polytechnic students attempted to lay siege to the district Collectorate to demand the revocation of GO 97. Police personnel intervened to prevent the protesters from entering the Collectorate, leading to arguments between the two sides. Protesting students alleged that a police officer grabbed two students by the throat and shoved them back, leading to breathlessness.