ANANTAPUR: Chief minister Jagan Reddy asserted on Tuesday that the reforms and exclusive concentration on raising the education standards in AP to national and international levels in next 15 years will help the state achieve the target of freeing the next generation from poverty.
“While only rich people can afford corporate education, the aim of our new education policy is to provide top-quality education to the poor sections of the society through government schools,” Jagan said.
The CM noted that the government has entered into an MoU with a private online education player to offer quality academic skills to students in government schools. The rich sections are paying Rs 24,000 every year to get such guidance, he pointed out.
Bilingual textbooks are given to children of government schools for them to have clarity in subjects and attain their goals.
The chief minister launched the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka for the third consecutive year to provide educational kits to 47,40,421 children from Class 1 to 10 in the government and aided schools.
This was done on the first day of reopening of schools in the state, at an event at the College Grounds in Adoni town in Kurnool district. The government spent Rs 931.02 crore for the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme.
The chief minister made it clear that the government’s concept of improving school facilities along with providing financial assistance to students below the poverty line should help overcome poverty.
Quality should be ensured for the English medium studies so that the children can survive in all situations across the globe, he said.
The CM said, “The three-year-long and continuing efforts for improving quality in school education will ensure a better future for the state’s students.”
Saying that the five-year TD rule of AP neglected the education system and it never thought about providing a quality menu, the chief minister said his government reversed the scenario for the better and renovated schools with additional facilities.
Reddy said Rs 650 crore was spent for education in the first year of his term since 2019, which was followed by an allotment of Rs 790 crore in the second year and Rs 931 crore for each education kit worth Rs 1964 the present year.
Further, Rs 500 crore will be spent on providing tabs for 4.70 lakh students in addition to the signing of an agreement with a private online education player to improve quality of studies.
“We are spending Rs 1,850 crore for the Gorumudda scheme but Naidu was unable to clear bills for the workers even for eight months,” he said.
Jagananna Vidya Kanuka kits worth Rs 47.92 crore are being given to 2,40,129 students in 2473 schools in Prakasam district.
District collector Dinesh Kumar said such initiatives of the government boosted the morale of the students and this was how Prakasam bagged the top position in Class X results. This is also helping improve admissions and reduce dropout rates.
The kit costing Rs 1996 each consists of a school bag, three pairs of uniforms, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, textbooks, notebooks, belt, and an oxford dictionary.
The collector said the kits would be distributed free of cost in all the schools this month itself.
He called upon the teachers to retain the first position in Class X results in future also while promising to meet all the requirements of the schools.
The collector visualized a situation wherein VIP recommendation will not be necessary for students to obtain a seat in government schools.
Stressing that poverty is not a barrier to studies, ZP chairman Buchepalli Venkayamma praised the government for the steps it is taking to enable poor children join schools.
Ongole Mayor Gangada Sujatha also hailed the government for not burdening the parents for children’s education. The collector and others distributed Vidya Kanuka kits to the students.
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