Minister Nara Lokesh Outlines New Steps to Elevate Education Standards
In a significant move to improve attendance and educational standards in government colleges, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Education, IT, and Electronics, Nara Lokesh, has announced the provision of mid-day meals for intermediate students. This decision was made during a review meeting held at his residence in Undavalli with senior officials from the School Education and Intermediate Education departments.
During the meeting, Minister Nara Lokesh highlighted that dropout rates are particularly high among economically disadvantaged students who complete their 10th grade. He expressed confidence that providing mid-day meals in government intermediate colleges would help reduce these dropout rates to some extent.
To further support struggling students in intermediate education, Nara Lokesh suggested providing a question bank. He emphasized identifying underperforming students based on assessments conducted through the Sankalp initiative and recommended appointing college lecturers and staff as caretakers for these students. Additionally, he directed officials to carry out repairs at severely damaged government junior colleges to improve infrastructure.
Nara Lokesh also addressed the upcoming Mega Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTM), scheduled to take place in government schools across the state on December 7. He urged officials to ensure these meetings are conducted in a celebratory atmosphere. Ministers and legislators were instructed to attend the PTMs in their respective constituencies, avoiding the use of party banners, fanfare, or unnecessary extravagance. Nara Lokesh revealed that he, along with Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, would personally attend the Mega PTM at the Bapatla Government High School.
As part of the government’s larger goal to enhance education quality and facilities, the idea of introducing a "star rating" system for government schools was discussed. This system would evaluate schools based on 18 criteria.
In a move to instill moral values among students, Lokesh suggested seeking inputs from the state government’s advisor, Chaganti Koteshwara Rao, to design appropriate curriculum changes. He stressed the importance of promoting gender equality and civic sense among children from an early age. Additionally, he encouraged adopting the Japanese model of life skills to prepare students for practical challenges.
Minister Nara Lokesh also proposed the repeal of Government Order (G.O.) 117, introduced by the previous administration, which was perceived as detrimental to school education. To devise a better policy, he recommended gathering feedback from village-level stakeholders and involving School Management Committees in the discussions.
Lastly, Nara Lokesh made it clear that school grounds should not be used for any activities other than job fairs, ensuring that their primary purpose remains dedicated to education.