Andhra Govt rebukes corporate colleges over increasing student suicides

Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday rebuked corporate colleges over increasing suicides of students, and ordered private colleges to stop harassing students and to follow self regulation.

In the wake of seven students' suicide and one suicide attempt in the last 10 days, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and HRD minister Ganta Srinivas Rao held a closed-door meeting with the managements of corporate colleges in the state.

The Chief Minister said he won't tolerate if corporate education system makes students robots, and ordered private colleges to follow self regulation and to stop harassing students immediately.

Calling for a reform in the grading system, Naidu ordered Board of Intermediate Education to remove rank system.

He further asked to stop forcing children to study 18 hours a day.

Chief Minister Naidu said he will hold review meeting with committee once in a month and with representatives of colleges once in three months.

Meanwhile, HRD Minister Ganta Srinivas Rao warned corporate colleges of criminal action in the event of a student's suicide, and called for strict obedience to all the rules and regulations by the Board of Intermediate Education.

Inspections will be held in private colleges and hostels from October 20, and 158 hostels of corporate colleges running without permission will be shut down. Legal action will be taken if stipulated measures are not taken up within three months.

Apart from the suicide cases in corporate colleges, two more students of IIIT also committed suicides in the last week.