Teachers Will No Longer Bear the Burden of Apps: Minister Nara Lokesh
A short-term discussion on reforms in the state’s education system was held today in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council. As part of the discussion, Minister for Education Nara Lokesh responded to various concerns and clarified that teachers in the state would no longer have to bear the burden of multiple apps. He also stated that the government is prepared to withdraw past cases filed against teachers.
Nara Lokesh emphasized the government’s commitment to bringing significant changes to the education system. He alleged that the previous administration had neglected the education sector, which led to a decline in students’ skills. The government is currently focused on addressing existing issues and aims to bring the education system back on track within the next four years.
The minister further stated that during the previous government’s tenure, nearly 1.2 million students had moved away from government schools. He attributed this to Government Order (G.O.) 117, which, according to him, resulted in the closure of several schools and an increase in single-teacher schools. Additionally, he accused the past administration of manipulating student records, alleging that through the "drop box" system, the data of millions of students had been misrepresented, leading to an increase in the dropout rate to 12.5%.
Regarding the Nadu-Nedu program, Nara Lokesh assured that funds would be released for ongoing projects to improve school infrastructure. He also criticized the previous government for placing political leaders’ photographs on items such as Oxford dictionaries, notebooks, biscuits, and eggs. He stated that the current administration is distributing school kits under the name of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and assured that these kits would not feature any political colors or leaders’ images.
To reduce the weight of school books for students, he announced that the syllabus would be divided into a semester system, with two books provided for the first semester and two for the second semester. He further mentioned that teachers would be trained to implement the CBSE curriculum in schools. Nara Lokesh criticized the previous government for implementing the TOEFL-based assessment system, which he claimed had caused difficulties for students. He also alleged that Rs. 5 crore was wasted on IB (International Baccalaureate) schools during the past administration.
The minister stated that the government is also committed to reforms in higher education. He announced that 3,282 vacant posts in universities would be filled soon, with the recruitment process set to commence shortly. He added that a unified law would be introduced for universities to ensure greater transparency in their operations.
As part of the new education policy, Nara Lokesh announced plans to establish a Deep Tech University, the Indian International University of Legal Education and Research, and a Sports University. Concluding his speech, he urged teachers, parents, and students to cooperate in bringing about positive changes in the education system.
