Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy said on Monday that his government has initiated several reforms in the education sector in the last three years to make students global citizens. Addressing the Teachers’ Day celebration in Vijayawada, the Chief Minister said a sum of Rs 52,000 crore was spent on education sector in the last three years, with programmes like Mana Badi: Nadu-Nedu (our school: then and now) to refurbish school infrastructure.
All the expenditure and reforms are student-centric. The onus is on teachers to ensure effective implementation of the programmes. Teachers are the sculptors who could transform not only the schools but also the system, the Chief Minister remarked. He asked the teachers to think if the current education system was an asset or a liability.
Seeking to mollify the teachers, who are upset with his government over a host of issues, including non-fulfilment of promise on scrapping of Contributory Pension Scheme, Jagan maintained that the initiatives brought-in were not meant to cause any trouble to the teachers. These are steps towards a more meaningful and futuristic education. These are meant to ensure quality education to every section of the society, particularly the downtrodden, he said.
On the occasion, Jagan lashed out at the previous Chandrababu Naidu government, alleging that it worked only to help corporate educational institutes, leaving the poor in the lurch. The CM presented state-level Best Teacher awards to 66 school teachers, 19 junior lecturers, 24 degree lecturers, 36 university professors, six technical education instructors and three arts teachers.
He also presented 26 Swatch Vidyalaya Puraskar to as many schools’ staff.Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, School Education Commissioner S Suresh Kumar, Higher Education Principal Secretary J Syamala Rao and others attended.
It was after a two-year gap that the government organised the Teachers’ Day event but many teachers’ association gave a boycott call protesting the Jagan regime’s various actions against the teachers in recent days. Extensive police security was posted at the venue and stringent measures implemented.
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)