VIJAYAWADA: A war of words ensued between HRD Minister Nara Lokesh, and YSRC president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday over education reforms in the State.
In a post on X, Jagan demanded Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and the TDP-led NDA government to immediately cease actions that will weaken government schools. He asked the government to continue the reforms that were set in motion by the previous regime.
The YSRC chief warned that depriving government students of access to world-class education will not only harm their future, but also solidify the TDP’s legacy as opponents of the poor.
The former Chief Minister accused the TDP of rolling back key educational reforms and taking regressive steps like cancelling the CBSE syllabus in government schools, thereby undermining the quality of education for students from poorer backgrounds.
Emphasising the importance of education as a tool to permanently eradicate poverty, he alleged that while the TDP ensured the best education for children in private institutions, they neglected the needs of children in government schools. He questioned the TDP’s motives, asking if they intend to keep the standard of government school low permanently.
Jagan further highlighted that his government had introduced a series of reforms, including ‘Nadu-Nedu’, English medium, CBSE affiliation, interactive learning methods, to transform the State’s government schools.
Stating that initiatives under his regime aimed to elevate the standard of education and provide government school students with opportunities comparable to those in private institutions, the YSRC chief criticised the government for systematically undoing these efforts and deliberately attempting to push government school students towards private institutions owned by TDP leaders.
He also defended government school teachers, stating that they are highly-qualified and condemned the TDP government’s attempts to demoralise them.
Responding, Lokesh mocked Jagan for speaking on the issue “without knowledge”. Lashing out at the YSRC president, the Minister said, “Your (Jagan’s) overnight decision has become a bane for thousands of students in government schools. The future of 75,000 students studying Class X at government schools is in a limbo as the previous government intended to implement CBSE syllabus without ensuring that students were prepared to write the exams or training the teachers.”
Further, he quipped, “Unlike Jagan, the present government’s decision will be based on the recommendation of experts. We will gradually bring changes in the examination system from Class 6 students from the next academic year and prepare them to write exams as per CBSE syllabus.”
He also sought to know why number of students in government schools had dropped, if indeed the previous government had implemented reforms that could change the education sector in the State.
