Published Nov 15, 2026 | 5:47 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 15, 2026 | 5:47 PM
Both YISU and government polytechnics will now be administered by the Higher Education Department.
Months after deciding to move polytechnic colleges in the state into the Young India Skills University (YISU) framework under the SHAKTI (Skill Human Capital and Knowledge Training Initiatives) department, the Telangana government has rolled back its decision, amid student-led protests.
A government order issued on 13 November announced amendments to its June 16 order that renamed the Labour Department as SHAKTI. Both YISU and government polytechnics will now be administered by the Higher Education Department.
However, the order stops short of a full rollback. The administration of Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and Advanced Technology Centres (ATCs) still falls under the purview of SHAKTI, though YISU will oversee their curriculum.
According to the government, the amendment followed recommendations by a high-level committee it set up on 24 August to chart the modernisation of polytechnic education without harming the academic and career prospects of the students. K Keshava Rao, adviser to the government (public affairs), headed the six-member panel.
The panel was formed after protests by students, lecturers and staff, who alleged that the merger with YISU might jeopardise polytechnic diploma holders’ careers and that ECET-based lateral entry into engineering courses might be disrupted. They also raised concerns that the State Board of Technical Education and Training (SBTET), the body responsible for diploma examinations, would lose its role.
Another major issue raised by the protesters was the lack of AICTE accreditation for YISU. The latest government order directs YISU to obtain the necessary approvals from the body for the expansion of its academic programmes.
BRS leader Harish Rao, who had backed the student protests, hailed the amendment as a victory of student unity. He asked Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy why students must fight so hard for “every bad decision to be corrected.”
(Edited by Fayisa CA)
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