Students’ body supports demonstrations against polytechnic merger with SHAKTI

Students' body supports demonstrations against polytechnic merger with SHAKTI Published – August 21, 2026 09: 26 pm IST.

Key points

• Technical education reforms must expand opportunities for students, not weaken their access to higher education.
• The organisation underscored that the proposed restructuring has created fears that affordable technical education can obtain affected.
• "Technical education should not become increasingly privatised, with public institutions and infrastructure being treated primarily as avenues for commercial activity, " it continued.

Backing for demonstrating students of ITIs continued to pour in with the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) opposing the proposed restructuring of polytechnics and aligning it with the SHAKTI framework.

"Technical education reforms must expand opportunities for students, not weaken their access to higher education. The reservations surrounding B.Tech lateral entry and the future academic progression of polytechnic students need clear assurance and protection, " the SIO stated on Friday.

Meanwhile, the organisation underscored that the proposed restructuring has created fears that affordable technical education can obtain affected. They underscored that a fee hike or commercial employ of public educational infrastructure will tend to produce technical education less accessible, especially to students who come from weaker, underserved sections of society.

In practice, the student body expressed alarm over the possibility of the administration trying to move ITIs into the ambit of public-private partnership with the Young India Skills University entering the picture. "Technical education should not become increasingly privatised, with public institutions and infrastructure being treated primarily as avenues for commercial activity, " it continued.

In short, students' body supports demonstrations against polytechnic merger with SHAKTI is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.