Ushering in reforms in school education in A.P. with priority on students’ welfare

The school education sector was one of the focus areas for the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government, which implemented a series of reforms aimed at overhauling the system.

However, not all of these measures have proved to be beneficial for the students, prompting a need for reassessment, feels the new dispensation.

The TDP-led coalition government is revisiting the policies introduced by its predecessor, following widespread protests and concerns raised by the stakeholders.

Officials at the helm emphasise that their goal is to continue the measures that benefit the students, while discarding components that may negatively impact their interests. “The welfare of students is our top priority,” says Secretary, School Education, Kona Sasidhar.

Andhra Pradesh has 58,950 schools. Out of these, 44,617 are government institutions, 13,249 private unaided schools, including Madrasas, and 1,084 private aided management schools. Together, they accommodate 72,20,633 students and 2,96,274 teachers. Of them, 1,85,023 work in the government schools.

CBSE affiliation

The YSRCP government claimed that it had spent ₹63,000 crore on reforms ushered in to revamp the State-run schools through welfare initiatives. As part of the reforms, it had provided the first set of government schools (1,005 in number) affiliation to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 2022-23, as part of a bigger plan to bring all the State-run schools within the CBSE fold in phases.

But, the current government, reverted the decision, bringing students of Class 10 back into the State Board fold.

This was necessitated due to the dismal performance of the students in an internal examination conducted by the department officials to assess their preparation levels to face the CBSE examinations.

Taking serious note of the wide gaps, Minister for Human Resources Development N. Lokesh instructed the officials to focus on improving the learning outcomes in the government schools, which was an important indicator of the quality of education.

Mega DSC

Immediately after coming to power in the State, the TDP government approved the recruitment of 16,437 teacher posts through a Mega District Selection Committee (DSC).

The Minister said that the recruitment process would be completed before the start of the new academic year.

To maximise opportunities for the unemployed teachers, the government conducted Teacher Eligibility Test (TET), which saw as many as 1,87,256 candidates clearing the qualifying examination.

G.O. 117, seen as problematic by the stakeholders, who argued that it would adversely impact the rural students, had been repealed and a new draft model prepared.

The academic calendar for the government schools was prepared ensuring that the process remained devoid of any political influence, and to encourage parents’ engagement in their children’s performance, a first-of-its kind mega Parents-Teachers’ Meeting was organised on December 7, 2024.

The department is also taking steps to revise textbooks and teaching plans in line with the National Education Policy, 2020 and NIPUN Bharat initiative of the Centre.

To introduce innovative methods in classroom teaching, the government is partnering with organisations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Pratham, an innovative learning organisation created to improve the quality of education across the country, and Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL), a global research center working to reduce poverty by ensuring that policy is formed by scientific evidence.

Star rating

As part of reforms, the government has also decided to implement mid-day meal scheme for the Intermediate students across 475 government junior colleges, a decision that will benefit around 2 lakh students.

Introduction of star ratings for academics and infrastructure is yet another important initiative of the new government, which plans to focus on areas with low ratings based on feedback.

Mr. Lokesh has announced that a detailed roadmap has been prepared to further improve standards in government schools and junior colleges over the next six months.

This includes implementing a ‘One School, One App’ initiative to monitor the status of each school, hosting State and national-level science and sports meets, and distributing holistic report cards that detail student performance in both academic and extracurricular activities.