NHRC Issues Notice to Telangana Govt over Students’ Suicides and Discrepancies in Intermediate Exams

Taking suo moto cognisance of the media reports – saying that 18 students have committed suicide since March, who had reportedly failed in intermediate examination conducted by state’s board of intermediate examination – National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has issued notice to the Telangana government seeking a detailed report in the matter within four weeks.

NHRC also asked the state government to provide details on the government’s “action taken against the guilty and relief, if any, provided to the aggrieved families”.

This is the second notice by NHRC to the Telangana government in this month.

On April 11, NHRC had sought a report from the government on the tragic incident of death of 10 women working under the MGNREGA scheme when an embankment caved in on them in Narayanpet district of Telangana. The commission also sought information on “action taken against guilty, relief and rehabilitation to the families of the victims and status of the safety measures at such sites where deep digging is conducted”.

As per media reports, around 10 lakh students appeared for the class XII exam in February, and nearly 3.5 lakh students have failed. In the results declared, there are multiple discrepancies such as incorrect printing on students’ marksheets.

Reportedly, private company Globarena Technologies has been given the contract for processing the results, which was being done earlier by the ‘Centre for Good Governance’, a government agency.

As discrepancies in the range of thousands have emerged, and with suicides of at least eighteen students, parents and students have staged protests across the state demanding a probe into the matter.

The Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) – the nodal agency for conducting the intermediate exams – had initially dismissed allegations of discrepancies. However, with opposition political parties and civil rights activists joining the protests, the state government has appointed a three-member committee to prepare a report on this issue.

“There are multiple issues: the software, execution, code followed by officials etc. The question is about the overall approach to the exam. The way they conduct the exam, the standard protocol needs to be looked at again,” a member of the committee told The News Minute.

On April 25, a delegation of political parties including Congress and Left parties had submitted reports to Governor ESL Narasimhan on this matter. Congress leader Uttam Kumar Reddy termed the suicides of intermediate students as “government-sponsored murders”, and demanded that the government pay a compensation of Rs 25 lakh to each of the aggrieved families.

Meanwhile, the state government has extended the last date for applying for advanced supplementary examination to April 29.

Also read: Students’ Suicide in Telangana: A Grim Picture of Academic System