APSERM Commission Issues Notice To Guntur Narayana Inter College Over Poor Facilities

GUNTUR: Members of Andhra Pradesh School Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission (APSERMC) on Sunday, carried out surprise inspections on Narayana Junior College in Guntur and found that the facilities were in poor condition despite the management collecting exorbitant fees from students and issued notice to the management over the same.

Commission members V. Narayana Reddy, CAV Prasad and B. Eshwaraya conducted a surprise inspection at the Narayana Junior College Hostel campus in Pedapalakaluru on the outskirts of Guntur. They were outraged by the lack of proper sanitation on the campus. They also saw that food was not properly stored and discovered rotten vegetables, including tomatoes and cabbage still kept in the kitchen.

They asked the management that despite charging thousands of rupees why fresh and hygienic food was not provided to the students. The staff were asked if they would treat their own children like this at their homes. Many parents had come forward to state that when they questioned the management about the lack of proper facilities, they were rude to them.  

Members of the Commission responded by advising parents not to enrol children in such corporate educational institutions. They also said strict action would be taken if a complaint were lodged against the management of such private educational institutions. Students complained that they were being confined to classrooms and were not given a break. The Commission members were shocked to see that the college was conducting classes from 7AM in the morning to 9:30 in the night. "Are not the students allowed even one day off a week," they asked.

Commission members Narayana Reddy, Prasad and Eshwaraya spoke to the media at the RIO office and said that a notice would be issued to the college management. If the management does not respond properly, we will recommend the government to close the college. So far, notices have been issued to 40 colleges. It is becoming clear that the Board of Intermediate officials do not care about the management of junior colleges, they remarked. They also expressed dissatisfaction at the performance of Board of Intermediate Education regional inspecting officer ZS Ramachandra Rao, which they said was not up to the mark. The committee members last  month gave its nod to cancel the licences of 75 junior private colleges across the State found to be violating the stipulated norms during its inspection.