KT Rama Rao promises support to 4 lakh teachers in Telangana who lost jobs amid COVID lockdown

HYDERABAD: TRS working president KT Rama Rao on Tuesday said the Telangana government would come up with a plan to help nearly four lakh teachers, who have been rendered jobless due to the Covid-19 lockdown.

“It is a difficult task to provide relief to 4,00,000 teachers, who lost their jobs during the lockdown, soon after the distribution of flood relief. But the TRS government will do what it can to help them. We have not chalked out a plan yet, but we will come up with something,” he said while interacting with the managements of private educational institutes.

Rama Rao also said the State government has been providing relief to the poor, without any help from the Centre, and would continue to do so till things get back to normal. “There is no immediate plan for the betterment of the public education sector in the State. We will continue to do what we are doing. We have been asking the Central government for help, but in vain. Telangana needs more Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. The proposals for an IIM, a IIIT in (Karimnagar), an NIT and a tribal university, which was promised by the Central government, are still pending,” the Minister said.

At least 40 per cent of the teaching staff has been sacked from budget private schools which cater to 54 per cent of all the students in Telangana, Sreedhar Reddy, organising president of the Telangana Recognised School Management Association (TRSMA), said. “If schools remain closed and parents do not pay fees, we will be forced to fire more and more teachers, unless the government helps us with some aid,” he said.