Amaravati, July 26: Following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union Education Minister over the NEET paper leak issue, the YSR Congress Party has sought the resignation of Andhra Pradesh Education Minister Nara Lokesh in the wake of large-scale irregularities in the DSC for recruitment of government teachers.
The party has also reiterated its demand for a CBI inquiry to bring out the facts.
YSRCP MLC P. Chandrasekhar Reddy told media persons at Nellore on Sunday that Education Minister Lokesh should immediately resign as irregularities in the DSC (District Selection Committee) process, from notification to recruitment, have been exposed time and again.
For all teacher posts, the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) is mandatory, and it was mentioned in the DSC notification itself that only TET-qualified candidates would be considered for recruitment. However, the DSC process was conducted without following the norms, which is a major anomaly, he said.
The MLC pointed out that those who were given jobs under the DSC are now writing the TET, as there is a court ruling that all teachers should be TET-qualified, except those appointed as physical directors. It clearly shows how the coalition government has bypassed the prescribed norms and given jobs to those who do not possess TET qualifications, he said.
He alleged that the question paper setting process, valuation, and recruitment process have witnessed several irregularities. These should be probed by the CBI, and the Education Minister should resign immediately, he said.
Former Chief Minister and YSRCP president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Saturday night demanded Lokesh’s resignation.
“Taking moral responsibility for the NEET paper leak, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan ji resigned, setting a benchmark for political accountability under the NDA Government. We now ask the same question in Andhra Pradesh. Will Education Minister Nara Lokesh of the NDA Government in Andhra Pradesh accept moral responsibility for the serious irregularities surrounding the DSC examination process (which involved around 3.5 lakh aspirants) and resign from his post? Or will Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu of the NDA Government shield his son instead of upholding the very standards of accountability that the NDA claims to believe in?” asked Jagan Mohan Reddy in a post on ‘X’.
MLC Chandrasekhar Reddy said that the education system has been completely weakened, with the reforms introduced by Jagan Mohan Reddy being done away with. The scrapping of Nadu Nedu, English-medium education, and other initiatives shows that the government has scant interest in the education system.
He claimed that the Talliki Vandanam scheme is not being implemented in its intended spirit, and over 20 lakh beneficiaries have been excluded to suit the government’s allocated budget.
–IANS
