VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh seeks to deepen its strategic partnership with Singapore, with a renewed focus on improving education standards, strengthening administrative capabilities and accelerating digital governance initiatives across the State.
Participating in the third meeting of the Andhra Pradesh-Singapore Joint Implementation Standing Committee (JISC) meeting held at the APCRDA office in Amaravati on Wednesday, Minister for HRD and IT Nara Lokesh proposed expanding Singapore-backed training programmes for teachers, Ministers and senior government officials.
The meeting was co-chaired by Minister Lokesh and Singapore Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Energy, Trade and Industry Gan Siow Huang. Delegations from both governments reviewed progress under the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and discussed priorities for the next phase of cooperation.
Highlighting the outcomes of the existing collaboration, Minister Lokesh thanked the Singapore government for facilitating training for six Andhra Pradesh Ministers and 37 teachers.
He proposed sending teachers recognised for excellence to Singapore during summer vacations to gain exposure to international teaching methodologies and innovative classroom practices.
Emphasising that international exposure should benefit the wider education system, Minister Lokesh directed officials to establish a structured mechanism through which Singapore-trained teachers can share their learnings with educators across the State through school complex meetings.
He also called for strengthening institutional capacity in the Education Department through three key pillars - Guidance, Direction and Administration - to improve teaching standards and educational outcomes.
To improve coordination between political leadership and the administrative machinery, Lokesh proposed joint training programmes for Ministers and their respective departmental Secretaries under the Singapore-Andhra Pradesh Governance Excellence (SAGE) initiative.
He observed that joint training, rather than separate programmes, would help Ministers and Secretaries develop a common understanding of policy objectives, strengthen interdepartmental coordination. Lokesh sought expanded leadership development, administrative training and knowledge-exchange programmes for civil servants and senior government officials.
