VIJAYAWADA: As part of implementing the New Education Policy (NEP), the State government has decided to divide schools into six categories. As a result, the total number of schools in the State will increase to 58,000 from the existing 44,000.
During a review meeting on the education policy on Wednesday, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed officials to ensure that adequate teaching staff are appointed in accordance with the rise in number of schools and maintain proper teacher-student ratio. Emphasis should be laid on imparting quality education to students. The medium of instruction in schools should be English to make students survive in the competitive world. Telugu should be taught in schools as a compulsory subject, the Chief Minister said.
He said skilled teachers should be made available in schools. The single teacher schools will be transformed where different subjects will be taught by different teachers and this will help reduce the workload on teachers. A promotion channel will also be set up for qualified Anganwadi teachers.
Orientation programmes on the NEP should be conducted and an awareness should be created among district collectors, joint collectors, district education officers and project directors for its effective implementation, he said.
Officials informed the Chief Minister that the new initiatives like Amma Vodi, introduction of English as medium of instruction and Nadu-Nedu have started yielding good results. The total enrolment in all schools in the State was 72.33 lakh by 2014-15 and it decreased to 70.43 lakh by 2018-19. The enrolment has increased to 73.06 lakh by 2020-21 due to implementation of Amma Vodi and other educational reforms, they said.
In government schools in the State, the student enrolment was 42.83 lakh by 2014-15 and it declined to 37.21 lakh by 2018-19. The enrolment has gone up to 43.44 lakh by 2020-21. Amma Vodi has played a crucial role in rise in enrolment in schools. Accurate data pertaining to student strength in schools has been prepared by conducting social audits, they said. The Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme will be launched by the Chief Minister in West Godavari district on August 16.