Daijiworld Media Network – Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Jul 28: Telangana chief minister A. Revanth Reddy on Tuesday urged the Centre to frame a national-level policy to curb examination paper leaks and called for stringent punishment for those responsible.
Addressing the media in New Delhi, Revanth Reddy said conducting examinations online would help reduce irregularities, as offline examinations are more prone to malpractice.
The chief minister criticised the unchecked growth of coaching centres across the country, alleging that many unauthorised institutions had become centres for question paper leaks.
Expressing concern over the Centre's increasing role in the functioning of state universities, he said education should remain under the purview of state governments to minimise errors. He added that the issue should be debated in Parliament.
On legislation to prevent paper leaks, Revanth Reddy said the Telangana government would decide its future course of action after examining the law being formulated by the Centre.
He said his government had introduced greater transparency and accountability in competitive examinations by restructuring the Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) on the lines of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The chief minister alleged that the previous BRS government had failed to act against Globarena over alleged irregularities, allowing the agency to expand its operations to CBSE examinations and causing hardship to students. He called for strict action against such organisations.
Revanth Reddy also accused the previous BRS government of leaving fee reimbursement dues of around Rs 8,000 crore. He said a Vigilance and Enforcement probe was underway against institutions that had allegedly submitted fabricated claims for reimbursements despite lacking adequate facilities.
He assured that genuine institutions complying with norms would receive pending dues and accused the BRS of spreading misinformation that the present government was withholding reimbursements.
The chief minister also criticised the BJP for making similar allegations and suggested that Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy, BJP state president N. Ramchander Rao and MP R. Krishnaiah should first ensure 100 per cent fee reimbursement was implemented in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh under the BJP-TDP alliance government before raising the issue in Telangana.
Reiterating his government's commitment to clearing pending dues despite the financial burden inherited from the previous regime, Revanth Reddy said fee reimbursements for each academic year would henceforth be paid in full during the same year, with funds deposited directly into beneficiaries' bank accounts in advance.
He said Telangana requires between Rs 2,200 crore and Rs 2,400 crore annually for fee reimbursements and assured that the government had put in place a mechanism to ensure timely payments in future.