Hyderabad: To counter commercialisation of education, the Telangana Education Commission (TEC) on Wednesday recommended that the state reconsider the need for competitive exams such as EAPCET for undergraduate admissions into engineering, pharmacy and agriculture courses. The TEC, which conducted a public hearing on Intermediate education, suggested that Intermediate marks be made the basis for admissions instead.“To reduce the craze for coaching and to end the commercialisation of education, the Intermediate exam should be strengthened further and made the basis for admissions. This model is working quite well in states such as Tamil Nadu,” said PL Vishweshwar Rao, member, TEC. The commission, along with other stakeholders, also suggested strengthening public junior colleges with semi-residential models, English medium, nutritious meals, and career counselling.They also stressed on appointment of officers in mandals for monitoring and coordination, enforcing fee regulation, curbing misleading advertisements and unauthorised colleges, and reviving interest in arts and humanities to align Intermediate education with career pathways and higher education goals. At the hearing, various issues were highlighted including lack of transportation, infrastructure gaps, lack of teachers, health and safety, mobile addiction, dropouts due to distance and poverty among others.“One student aspiring to be a civil servant said that she had to drop out as there was no govt junior college nearby. We asked her if she would be interested in studying in a welfare residential school and even convinced her family to enrol her in a gurukul school,” said commission chairman Akunuri Murali. Several students also shared stories of financial hardship, loss of parents and lack of access to affordable education even after scoring well in Class 10.
