VIJAYAWADA: Speakers at a roundtable meeting organised by Andhra Pradesh Patasalala Parents’ Association (APPA) on Thursday passed a unanimous resolution opposing implementation of NEP-2020 in Anganwadi, primary and upper primary schools in the State. Addressing the gathering, APPA president P Chandram said that the State government has issued a circular in which it mentioned that it will implement the 5 + 3 + 3 + 4 education policy as per the new NEP-2020.
More than five lakh students have joined government schools, thanks to schemes such as Jagannana Gorumudda, Nadu-Nedu and Jaganna Vidya Kanuka. Now, if the Centre implements the NEP-2020, the existing primary schools within 3 km will be divided into Classes 3, 4, 5 and the secondary schools will be set up at a distance of 3 km from the primary schools.
According to the Right to Education Act, 2009, the neighbourhood school from Classes 1 to 5 within 1 km, he said. This apart, there is also the risk of students dropping out of school due to inclusion of Classes 3, 4, 5 in primary/secondary schools. There is a lot of difference between the mental state of children in Classes 3, 4, 5 and those in Classes 9, 10, 11, 12. Combining them can lead to many psychological problems, the speakers said.
If the new education system is implemented now, the dropouts in schools are likely to increase exponentially. Not only this, there are also chances of the students joining private schools, Chandram informed. Andhra Bahujan Samiti president P Ramesh said, “If the government is committed to implementing NEP-2020, then why is it not discussing about educating the poor? Strengthening Anganwadi Schools is a great development. If Anganwadi teachers are not properly qualified, how can they teach students?”
By moving the existing teachers to high schools, the teacher:student ratio in the high school will increase , but the teacher posts in other classes will reduce. This move will result in the students joining private schools. To strengthen Anganwadi schools, teachers must be imparted on pre-primary education for one year. The training should be limited to pre-primary education only, he emphasised.