Hyderabad: The BJP Telangana has launched a sharp attack on the Congress-led state government, accusing it of presiding over what it termed a “complete collapse” of the higher education system. Addressing the media on Tuesday, BJP Telangana Vice-President Dr Kasam Venkateshwarlu extended Vaikuntha Ekadashi greetings before outlining the alarming state of universities and colleges across the state.

Dr Venkateshwarlu pointed to the recent Vice-Chancellors’ conference, where academic leaders expressed grave concern over the deteriorating state of higher education. He described this collective outcry as unprecedented in Telangana’s history and said it was undeniable evidence of government failure. According to figures presented, Telangana’s universities have 2,816 sanctioned faculty posts, but 2,059 remain vacant, leaving only 755 positions filled. This translates to nearly 75 per cent vacancies across institutions. He highlighted that six universities currently function without a single professor, raising serious questions about research output, publications, and eligibility for national grants.

The crisis extends to government degree colleges, where out of 4,098 sanctioned posts, only 1,255 are filled, leaving 2,843 vacancies. With more than two-thirds of teaching positions unoccupied, Dr Venkateshwarlu warned that the quality of education was being severely compromised.

He accused the Congress government of ignoring repeated appeals from Vice-Chancellors for infrastructure and faculty recruitment. Reliance on contract and part-time lecturers, he said, was “an insult to higher education.”

He also condemned the government’s refusal to implement the National Education Policy (NEP-2020), arguing that this denial deprived students of opportunities for academic mobility and global competitiveness. Without NEP adoption, he cautioned, Telangana universities would fall behind in rankings and funding.

Dr Venkateshwarlu demanded immediate recruitment to all vacant professor posts, allocation of at least 10 per cent of the state budget to education, and transparent appointments to university governing bodies. He warned that if the Congress government repeated the mistakes of the previous regime, it would face strong public backlash.

The press meet was also attended by BJP State unit Vice- President Kolli Madhavi, State Secretary O Srinivas Reddy, and SC Morcha President Kantikiran, who echoed concerns about the state’s higher education crisis.