VIJAYAWADA: In a significant development, the State government entered into a landmark partnership with the International Baccalaureate (IB) organisation, solidifying the State’s commitment to enhancing the quality of education in government schools.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed virtually in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday at the Secretariat. With this partnership, the renowned IB syllabus will now be available to government school students. The MoU was signed by the IB Chief Development Officer Matt Costello and Principal Secretary of Education Department Praveen Prakash.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the MoU with the IB, which specialises in modern examination systems, will help introduce innovative questioning and answering methods that will be closer to practical life.
The syllabus, which is in vogue in American schools, would be accessible to students, he said, adding that it would be introduced in government schools at the foundation-level initially and expand to the higher classes gradually.
Stating that it is a historic event as our students would get good opportunities in global universities and improve their worldly knowledge, Jagan said, “We have already introduced the TOEFL training at primary, secondary and higher levels and when the students reach class 8 and 9, they would attain good communication skills.”
The main objective in signing the MoU is to make our students gain knowledge of emerging and future technologies and make them competitive on par with IB students of other countries, he added.
“The State government has been implementing several measures for improving the standards of government school students and strengthening the education system through the digitalisation of classrooms, upgrading the school infrastructure, distribution of tabs, introduction of bilingual textbooks, TOEFL training to students and introduction of English Medium in schools,” the CM told IB officials.
Director General of the International Baccalaureate Organisation Olli-Pekka Heinonen said that this partnership with Andhra Pradesh is a testament to our shared commitment to educational inclusivity. “Together, we will try to provide high-quality education to more young people, regardless of their circumstances and prepare them to thrive in an ever-changing world. I look forward to the exciting journey and the positive impact we can create together,” he said.
The signing-in was virtually witnessed by IB officials from the US, UK and Switzerland. Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, Chief Secretary KS Jawahar Reddy, Commissioners S Suresh Kumar (School Education) and K Bhaskar (School Infrastructure), IB Development and Research Manager (South Asia) Mahesh Balakrishnan were present.