Sat Feb 15 15:41:54 UTC 2025: ## Students’ Group Demands 20% of Telangana Budget for Education
**Hyderabad, February 15, 2025** – The Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) Telangana has urged the state government to allocate 20% of its budget to education, citing alarmingly low literacy and numeracy rates among students. The organization’s recommendations, based on the Annual Status of Education Report 2024, highlight that only 34.7% of students in classes III-V can perform mathematical division, and a similarly low percentage can read at the appropriate level. The SIO considers this a national crisis demanding immediate action.
While advocating for a 20% allocation – exceeding Bihar’s current 17.9% – the SIO also pressed for increased actual spending on education. Key demands include the immediate release of tuition fee reimbursements (RTF), which remain unpaid, and the disbursement of scholarships withheld in the 2024-25 fiscal year. The SIO called for a transparent and timely RTF system aligned with the academic calendar.
Further, the SIO referenced the Congress party’s pre-election promises concerning minority communities and demanded their swift implementation. This includes subsidized loans, ₹5 lakh financial assistance for MPhil and PhD students from minority communities, and the creation of a dedicated sub-plan for minorities. The group also highlighted over 600 vacancies for Urdu-medium teachers, suggesting a shift of these positions to the open category to address the lack of qualified candidates from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
First Piper 