VIJAYAWADA: Reiterating his government’s objective to prepare schoolchildren from poor and middle-class backgrounds, who largely study in government schools, to meet global challenges, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said they have decided to ensure ‘Right to English Medium’. This would imply that all 44,000 government schools in AP will introduce English medium from Class I to X in a phased manner.
Jagan accused Naidu of failing to utilise a golden opportunity to convert government schools in the State to English medium when the TDP was in power. “Chandrababu Naidu should hang his head in shame for his failure,” he said. Accusing the TDP chief of continuing with his ‘habit’ of taking a “U-turn’, Jagan said the initial reaction of Naidu after the GO on English medium was issued on November 5, was to vehemently oppose the same. “After a fortnight, he took a U-turn stating that both English and Telugu are needed,” accused the CM.
He cited several news articles and described it as proof of Naidu’s “double standards”. At one poin, Jagan asked Naidu if the latter had “any sense of shame”. Issuing a statement during a short discussion on ‘English Medium - Its need - Naadu Nedu’ on the fourth day of the ongoing Assembly session, the CM said improvement of infrastructure in the government schools is being taken up in a phased manner.
“Further from January 9, 2020, a revolutionary programme Amma Vodi will be introduced with the sole aim of ensuring that those who could not afford education are able to pursue it,” he said. Jagan pointed out that 33 per cent of the State population is still unlettered. While converting all government schools to English medium in a phased manner, Jagan said Telugu has been made a mandatory subject. “There should be a starting point for change and we have started now,” he said.
Jagan explained that teaching staff would be trained and there would be bridge courses for primary school students. He assured the Assembly that experts from the world over would draft the curriculum. Key resource persons would train teachers in language proficiency selecting four teachers per mandal who will undergo the training course.
Naidu said he had never opposed English medium in government schools. He said it was his Government that initiated the process and cited different GOs to support his claim. Naidu stated that in 2017, the TD government had signed an MoU with British Council for online English training of 1 lakh students. This was opposed by Audimulapu Suresh, the Education Minister. Suresh said it wasn’t 1 lakh but only 30,000 students who received training. “We have ordered an inquiry into it,” said the Minister. In response, Naidu said he would welcome such an inquiry. He said that while TDP supported the English medium proposal, he suggested that students be given an option to choose between English and Telugu.
Naidu tweets about “humiliation”
TDP chief Chandrababu Naidu said in a tweet said that the CM was humiliating him. “Humiliating me by repeatedly poking fun at my 40 years’ experience in politics and making me wait outside the Assembly for 40 minutes, are part of a conspiracy by the YSRC. The Assembly is supposed to discuss people’s problems or to humiliate me? I am bearing this humiliation only for the people