YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) leaders, including former Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pushpa Sreevani and former minister Balaraju, were detained by police in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, 1 September while attempting to reach a protest site where parents were demonstrating against the mid-year relocation of 480 tribal students from the Marikavalasa Tribal Welfare Residential School. The detentions have intensified a political standoff over the Telangana-Andhra Pradesh coalition government's decision to convert four tribal residential schools into Centres of Excellence.

What Triggered the Protest

The controversy stems from the state government's decision to convert the Marikavalasa AP Tribal Welfare Residential Boys' English Medium School — operational since 2004 — into a Centre of Excellence (CoE) offering specialised NEET and IIT coaching in partnership with private institutions. To facilitate the conversion, all 480 students, including Class 10 pupils, were shifted mid-academic year to residential institutions at Sabbavaram, Srikrishnapuram, Devarapalli, Parvathipuram, and other locations.

Parents had formally opposed the relocation, with the Parents Committee reportedly passing a resolution urging authorities to retain the school at its existing site. Despite those objections, officials proceeded with the shift under police presence. Around 70 students had reportedly obtained Transfer Certificates amid uncertainty over the school's future.

Detentions at the Protest Site

According to the YSRCP, Pushpa Sreevani and Balaraju were intercepted and taken into custody before they could reach the Marikavalasa Tribal Gurukulam protest site. Following an altercation with police personnel, both leaders were escorted away in a police vehicle. Protests have also been staged at the ITDA office in Paderu, while talks between parents and officials have so far failed to produce a resolution.

Scale of the Conversions

Marikavalasa is one of four Gurukulams being converted into CoEs involving private institutions. The others are located at Meghadrigedda in Visakhapatnam, Tadikonda in Guntur, and Kota in Nellore — collectively affecting nearly 2,000 students. Critics argue the scale of the disruption, spanning multiple districts and thousands of tribal children, demands far greater public consultation than the government has provided.

YSRCP's Demands and Political Response

The YSRCP strongly condemned the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led coalition government for displacing tribal students in the middle of the academic year and deploying police against those supporting the agitating parents. YSRCP spokesperson Konda Rajeev said the party, under the leadership of YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, 'stands firmly with the tribal students of Marikavalasa and will continue fighting for their rights and education.'

Rajeev described the police's handling of Pushpa Sreevani — a former Tribal Welfare Minister — as 'disgraceful and condemnable,' adding: 'Using the police machinery to suppress those questioning the government has become a disturbing pattern under the coalition government.'

The party demanded that the government immediately reconsider the relocation decision, allow affected students to resume education without further disruption, and publicly disclose the terms under which the Gurukulams are being handed over to private institutions for CoE conversion. It also called for the 20-year-old Marikavalasa school, which serves students from Class 5 to Intermediate, to be retained at its existing location — and for any new Centre of Excellence to be built on alternative land.

What Happens Next

With talks between parents and officials having broken down and political leaders now being detained, the standoff shows little sign of resolution. The government has not publicly responded to the YSRCP's demands or clarified the contractual terms with private institutions running the proposed CoEs. Advocacy groups and tribal welfare organisations are likely to increase pressure as the academic year progresses and the displaced students' situation becomes more acute.