Latest news with #Varshini
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
Should Students Clean Toilets? SC Commission Seeks Report On IAS Officer's Remark In Telangana
Last Updated: Dr VS Alagu Varshini was recorded in a widely circulated audio clip suggesting that students incorporate cleaning toilets and hostel rooms into their daily routine. The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued notices to the Telangana Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police regarding controversial remarks made by IAS officer Dr VS Alagu Varshini. The Commission demands an action-taken report within 15 days concerning allegedly derogatory instructions given to Gurukul school authorities. Varshini, Secretary of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TGSWREIS), was recorded in a widely circulated audio clip suggesting that students incorporate cleaning toilets and hostel rooms into their daily routine. The audio has drawn criticism, with many alleging discriminatory implications for Dalit students. Former IPS officer and BRS leader Dr RS Praveen Kumar, a former Secretary of TGSWREIS, condemned the remarks, questioning whether the Chief Minister's own children would be expected to clean school bathrooms. He called for Varshini's dismissal, accusing her of perpetuating caste-based discrimination under the pretext of discipline. BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha also criticised the officer, characterising her actions as reflective of what she described as the Congress government's 'anti-poor" mindset. She alleged that the current government discontinued the monthly Rs 40,000 budget allocated under BRS rule for employing cleaning staff in Gurukul schools. According to Kavitha, the elimination of assistant caretaker positions in 240 schools has left students responsible for chores such as cleaning toilets and managing kitchens. She emphasised that Gurukuls were established to shield marginalised students from caste and class-based humiliation, not to expose them to it. In response, Varshini released an audio message urging against politicising the issue or misinterpreting her comments. She maintained that students from impoverished backgrounds should acquire self-reliance and life skills, including cooking and cleaning. The officer stated that children need to develop independence, particularly in preparation for adulthood without constant parental support. She added that such tasks are commonplace in other countries and should be viewed as contributing to holistic development rather than constituting exploitation. First Published: June 03, 2025, 16:28 IST
New Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NCSC notice to Telangana over IAS officer's remarks
HYDERABAD: The National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) has issued notice to the chief secretary and DGP over alleged derogatory comments made by Secretary of Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TSWREIS) Alagu Varshini against SC Gurukul students. The Commission has directed them to submit an action taken report within 15 days. The controversy erupted after an audio clip went viral, in which she was heard instructing school principals to assign students the task of cleaning toilets and hostel rooms in Gurukul schools. However, Varshini clarified that 'this is about life skills, not labour'. A purported audio clip of the officer 'instructing' principals at a recent review meeting to involve students in cleaning toilets, hostel rooms, as well as cooking meals has gone viral, drawing sharp criticism from the BRS. BRS MLC K Kavitha has said that each social welfare school had received Rs 40,000 per month during the K Chandrasekhar Rao regime for hiring four temporary workers for cleaning tasks. 'This has been stopped by the Congress government starting May this year,' she alleged. In a recent post on 'X', Kavitha said, 'The state government has also done away with having assistant caretakers in the 240 schools, forcing the students to take up the role of wardens and manage kitchens. Now the officer is forcing children to clean toilets in schools !!' The IAS officer, however, refuted the allegations and said they were just an activity to 'tarnish' the government. She emphasised that all the sanitation staff remain employed.
Scroll.in
3 days ago
- Politics
- Scroll.in
Scheduled Caste panel issues notice after Telangana IAS officer asks students to clean toilets
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes on Sunday issued notices to Telangana's chief secretary and the director general of police after an Indian Administrative Service officer allegedly directed students at welfare schools to clean toilets, The Indian Express reported. The commission sought an action-taken report within 15 days. This came days after an alleged audio clip of S Alagu Varshini, secretary of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, directing school principals to incorporate cleaning duties into the students' routine at welfare hostels and classrooms was widely shared online. The Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society, which reports to the state welfare ministry, provides education to students from Scheduled Caste communities. Varshini was heard saying in the purported audio that the students in institutes operated by the welfare society come from extremely poor backgrounds and had to learn how to take care of themselves even while at home, The Indian Express reported. She made the alleged comment while speaking to the staff at one of the schools run by the welfare society, The Times of India reported. 'They must do the room cleaning,' The Times of India quoted the IAS officer as having allegedly said in the audio clip. 'Who will clean their rooms? If a sweeper can do it once, why can't the students do it on other occasions? Similarly, why can't they clean their own toilets? What is wrong with it?' Varshini also claimed that parents who objected to the direction would be issued a show cause notice. After the IAS officer's remarks came to light, RS Praveen Kumar, Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader and former secretary of the society, demanded Varshini's resignation, The Indian Express reported. 'This 'wholistic education' experiment must start from the so-called 'posh society' and their kids in their cozy homes and international schools first, not from poor kids,' he said on social media. 'Children from oppressed communities/families have been left with no choice but help themselves everyday, from cradle to grave, as none in the rest of society had the empathy to share their burden.' The BRS leader asked Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and the secretaries in the state government to keep their children in welfare hostels for a month and 'do this self help first'. 'It is very easy to sermonise to the poor, because they don't ask questions in return as they have no choice,' Kumar added. BRS MLC K Kavitha, who also shared the purported audio clip online, said that the Congress government's 'anti-poor attitude' was reflected in the 'shocking behaviour' by the IAS officer. 'Each social welfare school was granted Rs 40,000 per month during the BRS rule for hiring four temporary workers for cleaning tasks,' Kavitha said on social media. 'This has been stopped by the Congress government starting May this year.' She claimed that the state government had 'also done away with having assistant caretakers in the 240 schools, forcing the students to take up the role of wardens and manage kitchens'. Kavitha added: 'Now the officer is forcing children to clean toilets in schools! The statement goes against the very concept of establishing Gurukuls to protect students from marginalised communities from caste and class bias. This behaviour is discriminatory, exploitative, and violates basic principles of child rights and dignity.' She also demanded that the state government takes steps to remove the IAS officer. In another audio clip shared by Varshini with the media, she appealed not to politicise the matter and take her words out of context, according to The Indian Express. She also claimed that the allegations that there was no sanitation staff in the schools was baseless, adding that children helping parents at home was a 'normal day-to-day activity' and helped them grow as an 'aware individual'. 'If you go abroad or go to another state, you have to do your own day-to-day work,' The Indian Express quoted her as having said. 'Cleaning the rooms, washing the bathrooms, and washing clothes need to be done by oneself while also focusing on studies. The sudden transformation usually takes time for children. These are certain muscle memories.'
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
IAS officer asks students to clean their toilets in Telangana, National SC commission issues notices
The National Commission for Scheduled Castes Sunday issued notices to the Telangana chief secretary and the director general of police regarding the alleged derogatory remarks against SC Gurukul students by IAS officer Dr V S Alagu Varshini, seeking an action-taken report within 15 days. Varshini, Secretary, Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TGSWREIS), sparked controversy with her remarks regarding Gurukul school students in an audio clip that went viral recently. The incident occurred a week ago when the IAS officer reportedly directed school principals to incorporate cleaning duties, including tidying toilets and hostel rooms, into the students' routine at welfare hostels and classrooms. While the IAS officer stressed that there was nothing wrong with students in Gurukul schools cleaning toilets and tidying their own rooms, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and former secretary of TGSWREIS Dr R S Praveen Kumar asked the chief minister if his children washed the bathrooms of the school they were studying in. While demanding her sacking, he said the officer was discriminating against Dalit students studying in the Gurukul schools. 'These orders of an IAS Officer, Dr Alugu Varshini ji are utterly outrageous and reflect the manuvadi mindset of many in bureaucracy. She is even threatening the parents who question such 'reformatory' orders!!!,' he posted on X. Congress government's anti-poor attitude is reflected in this shocking behaviour by an official, at Social Welfare Gurukul Society. The evidence of which is available in the audio clip !! Each social welfare school was granted Rs 40,000 per month during the BRS rule for hiring… — Kavitha Kalvakuntla (@RaoKavitha) May 28, 2025 Sharing the purported audio clip on X, BRS MLC Kalvakuntla Kavitha said, 'Congress government's anti-poor attitude is reflected in this shocking behaviour by an official, at Social Welfare Gurukul Society.' Stating that each social welfare school was granted Rs 40,000 per month during the BRS rule for hiring four temporary workers for cleaning tasks, she alleged that this has been stopped by the Congress government starting May this year. She further said, 'The government has also done away with having assistant caretakers in the 240 schools, forcing the students to take up the role of wardens and manage kitchens. Now the officer is Forcing children to clean toilets in schools !!' According to Kavitha, the statements go against the concept of establishing Gurukuls to protect students from marginalised communities from caste and class bias. 'This behaviour is discriminatory, exploitative, and violates basic principles of child rights and dignity. It only reflects Revanth Reddy's government's anti-poor, anti-Dalith attitude !! I demand the government to immediately take steps to remove the officer and start giving the required funds to run the social welfare schools properly,' she wrote. In the purported audio, the officer justified her statements, saying that these students hail from extremely poor backgrounds and should learn how to take care of themselves even while at home. 'If they have to do roti making, they will do roti making. Very good. They must do the room cleaning. Who will clean their rooms? Once, the sweeper will do… Why can't they clean their own toilets? What is wrong it it… This is the growing phase of a child. I cannot give luxury. Then after the 11th and 12th standards, the child will go and sit, the parents may not be there to take care of them. Saying I don't know how to cook and I know only about studies as a useless person is not acceptable,' the officer can be heard saying in the audio shared by Kavitha. In another audio, which the officer herself shared with the media, she appealed not to politicise the issue involving students and take her words out of context. Terming the allegations of a lack of sanitation staff as baseless, she said children helping parents at home is a 'normal day-to-day activity' and helps them grow as an 'aware individual'. 'If you go abroad or go to another state, you have to do your own day-to-day work. Cleaning the rooms, washing the bathrooms, and washing clothes need to be done by oneself while also focusing on studies. The sudden transformation usually takes time for children. These are certain muscle memories,' she added. The officer was not available for a comment despite repeated attempts. Rahul V Pisharody is an Assistant Editor with the Indian Express Online and has been reporting from Telangana on various issues since 2019. Besides a focused approach to big news developments, Rahul has a keen interest in stories about Hyderabad and its inhabitants and looks out for interesting features on the city's heritage, environment, history culture etc. His articles are straightforward and simple reads in sync with the context. Rahul started his career as a journalist in 2011 with The New Indian Express and worked in different roles at the Hyderabad bureau for over 8 years. As Deputy Metro Editor, he was in charge of the Hyderabad bureau of the newspaper and coordinated with the team of district correspondents, centres and internet desk for over three years. A native of Palakkad in Kerala, Rahul has a Master's degree in Communication (Print and New Media) from the University of Hyderabad and a Bachelor's degree in Business Management from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. Long motorcycle rides and travel photography are among his other interests. ... Read More
The Hindu
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Gurukul society to start free skill development training, vocational courses from 2025-26
The Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (TGSWREIS) will launch a free skills development training programme for all its students 2025-26 academic year onwards. Collaborating with Bengaluru-based Unnathi Foundation, the aim is to equip Gurukul students with skills to make them employable, said Secretary Alagu Varshini on Tuesday. Addressing the press, Ms. Varshini explained that the students in the age bracket of 18-25, including Gurukul's alumni, will be eligible to attend. With a combination of offline and online training modules, 200-hour training and 70-hour application-based practise sessions will be achieved. The programme will formally be launched in the Gurkuls on June 3. 'In addition, we will be starting 15 new vocational courses this academic year onwards. The target is to train 36,000 students as employees,' she emphasised. The TGSWREIS is also collaborating with French Institute of India- Embassy of France in India for certifciate courses for teachers and students of Gurukuls. Starting with A1 grade and progressing to B and C, a student could become proficient. The programme would also start in June. Ms. Varshini informed that a total of 1,69,171 applications for 57,523 admission seats were received this year. In two rounds of counselling, 55,504 seats have been filled and the remaining 2,019 seats will be vacant for the special category. The final round of counselling will be held on May 20.
