Telangana Polytechnic Students and Staff Protest Merger With Skill University

Students and teaching staff from polytechnic institutions across Telangana held demonstrations on Tuesday to oppose the state government's decision to merge polytechnic education with the Young India Skill University (YISU).

The opposition follows the issuance of Government Order (GO) 97, which places polytechnic education under the Skill, Human Capital and Knowledge Training Initiatives (Shakti), formerly the Labour Department. Demonstrators voiced concerns that the merger would undermine the autonomy of the State Board of Technical Education and Training (SBTET) and turn diploma programmes into general labour training.

Students across several districts expressed apprehension that the policy would scrap the Engineering Common Entrance Test (ECET), which serves as a lateral entry pathway for diploma holders to gain admission into undergraduate engineering (BTech) courses.

During protests, including those in Vikarabad district and at the Government Polytechnic for Women in Suryapet, students stated that merging polytechnics with Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Advanced Training Centres (ATCs) under YISU would restrict their access to higher education. Students noted that without access to lateral entry BTech programmes, their three years of diploma coursework would lose value, leaving them with no choice but to pursue intermediate education to access engineering degrees.

Opposition to the move has also mobilised institutional staff. A total of 16 teaching and non-teaching staff associations from government polytechnics have formed the Telangana Polytechnic Joint Action Committee (TPJAC) to resist the proposal. The TPJAC stated that the SBTET is a high-performing, fully functional department that should not be absorbed into a university system lacking clear pathways for higher academic progression, and called for the immediate withdrawal of the order.