Not even a single school closed down in State: Andhra Pradesh minister Botcha Satyanarayana
VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana has made it clear that not even a single school in the State was closed down and there is no such intentions for the government.
Addressing a press conference at the State party office of YSR Congress at Tadepalli on Thursday, Satyanarayana said the YSRC government has brought reforms in the education sector in accordance with the new education system.
"We are trying to educate everyone. Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is working hard to provide the best education to school students. The Amma Vodi scheme was introduced to reduce the school dropout rate," he explained.
In all, there are a total of 42,750 schools in the State. The government is setting up foundation schools according to the new education system and making changes in Anganwadis. The government has taken a decision to improve the educational standards from the first class.
Some schools are 3 km away and the matter came to the attention of the government. The Chief Minister said the schools should be within a kilometre. The merger of schools will be done as per need, the minister said.
Out of 42,750 schools in the State, only 5,250 schools have been mapped (merging from class 3 to 8). "It has come to our notice that 296 schools are located at a distance of more than a kilometre. We will definitely reconsider if students are troubled by it and will make changes accordingly," Satyanarayana said.
The government has adopted the system of Central schools and appointed subject teachers to make students compete with those in Kerala and Gujarat. The pact with education and tech company BYJU's will help impart quality education to students of government schools, he asserted.
On teachers' rationalisation, the minister said a GO was issued and took the objections from teachers and the government will make some changes accordingly. In a meeting held with the student union leaders on Thursday, they approved 90 per cent of government policies.
"We made it clear that the English medium in schools is a government policy. Teachers should follow the government policy. If there are any deficiencies, we will correct them. To that extent, we are fixing everything one by one," Satyanarayana maintained.
The State government is sincere towards education and completely changing the educational standards by appointing a subject teacher from the third class along with CBSE syllabus. "No matter how much criticisms it receives, the government will not go back. This is the policy of our government. Around 52,000 students have decreased in the Amma Vodi scheme compared to last year as 75 per cent attendance is mandatory to avail the benefit. We will not compromise on that and students should regularly attend school," he averred.