Michelle D. Castillo 
VISAKHAPATNAM: For two decades, the Department of Political Science at Andhra University has failed to produce eminent politicians, such as the late Lok Sabha President GMC Balayogi or former Union Minister Panabaka Lakshmi.
Students leaving the department now seem more focused on Group 1 and other jobs. Not even one percent of the students who enroll each year go into politics. None aspired even to sarpanch positions, let alone to become an MP or an MP.
In the 2021-22 academic year, 46 students are continuing their graduate studies in political science, including 20 women.
The head of the political science department, Peteti Premanandam, said lack of interest in politics and financial support are the main reasons why students do not choose politics as a career option. That aside, political parties also don’t care about educational qualifications before picking their candidate MPs or MPs for election.
“Most of the students come from rural areas and economically weaker sections. Their immediate need is money to survive. Thus, they seek jobs instead of joining politics to serve people. The constitutional bodies should make some changes to the electoral system. They must formulate rules in which knowledge of political science figures prominently,” Premandam said.
Andhra Pradesh ST Commission Chairman, Kumbha Ravibabu, a former student in the Department of Political Science, said there had been no active student unions at Andhra University over the past few years. last two decades. Politicians like M. Venkaiah Naidu, K. Yerran Naidu, Panabaka Lakshmi and GMC Balayogi had been active student union leaders before entering politics. Student unions play a crucial role in educating students about politics and making them disciplined politicians.
“It is the government’s responsibility to establish student unions at the university level. There must be regular seminars and meetings on public issues like the privatization of the current Visakhapatnam steel plant. These can be the right step for students to turn into budding politicians,” Ravibabu pointed out.
Andhra University has been offering political science courses for eight decades. It is one of the few state and central universities in the country to offer an exclusive course in political science.
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