VIJAYAWADA: Minister for Human Resource Development, Information Technology and Electronics Nara Lokesh has made it clear that he will take all possible steps to totally cleanse the academic sector in the coming one year.
Lokesh on Friday held a review meeting with officials of the Education Department on the changes to be made in colleges and universities, and steps to be taken to improve the academic standards.
He enquired about the existing fee structure in private engineering colleges and basic facilities in government degree and junior colleges in the State.
“Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is very keen on increasing the ranking of State universities, besides laying emphasis on upgrading the curriculum to meet the growing needs of the industrial sector,” he said.
He instructed the officials to take measures to provide necessary coaching to students at the engineering colleges itself to enhance their skills and make them industry-ready. The officials should work with dedication and commitment to improve the academic standards in the colleges, he said.
The HRD Minister underlined the need to fill vacancies of lecturers in the colleges in a transparent manner after resolving the legal tangles.
The meeting also focused on the tests to be conducted by the Andhra Pradesh Public Service Commission (APPSC). Lokesh directed the officials to submit a report on admissions in the degree colleges in the past 10 years.
Observing that the previous regime had created several problems to students by discontinuing the direct fee reimbursement scheme, and replacing it with schemes like Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena, Lokesh said the end result of this was that over six lakh students failed to get back certificates from their respective educational institutions. The dues of Vidya Deevena amount to Rs 3,480 crore. The officials should ensure that students get back their certificates after discussing the matter with the managements of educational institutions, he said.
Secretary of Higher Education Sourab Gour, Commissioner of Intermediate Education Pola Bhaskar, Chairman of AP State Council of Higher Education K Rammohan Rao, Secretary of AP Higher Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commission D Suryachandra Rao were present.