Build confidence among public over govt schools: Nara Lokesh

State Education and IT Minister, Nara Lokesh, emphasised the importance of enhancing public confidence in government schools by providing quality education. The minister conducted a review of the Supporting Andhra Learning Transformation (SALT) project, implemented in collaboration with the World Bank, alongside school education officials and representatives from relevant agencies at his Undavalli residence on Friday.
During the review, Lokesh enquired about the delays in implementing the SALT project under the previous government. He questioned the spending of thousands of crores on initiatives like Nadu-Nedu and SALT by the previous administration. The minister urged officials to conduct a thorough analysis and work diligently to achieve improved results by focusing on delivering high-quality education.
Lokesh highlighted the need for strategic planning over the next five years to elevate government schools to the standards of private institutions. He instructed officials to make internet access mandatory in all government schools. Additionally, he advised representatives from the Pratham organization to revise their designs to ensure more scientific assessment methods at the primary school level. The Educational Initiatives Organization was directed to enhance the effectiveness of digital assessments and ensure they are seamlessly connected online.
The minister announced that all public representatives, from the Chief Minister to local MLAs, would participate in Model Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTMs) to understand the sentiments of parents and actively involve mothers in improving the performance of government schools.
Lokesh also instructed authorities to introduce curriculum changes in the next academic year to foster respect for women among students.
The review was attended by Principal Secretary of School Education Kona Sasidhar, Director Vijayaramaraju, Director of Intermediate Education Kritika Shukla, Samagra Siksha Project Director B Srinivasa Rao, and representatives from PWC, Pratham, and other organizations, including Suchindra Kumar, Sonal Sivagunde, Sunitha, K Suresh Babu, Dattatreya, Majeed, Vaibhav Pandey, Naga Saikrishna, and Siddesh Sharma.