Junior college in every mandal soon: Lokesh

Education, IT, and Electronics Minister Nara Lokesh has stated that the coalition government is committed to enhancing the quality of education in government intermediate colleges across the State. The Minister has instructed officials to devise plans for establishing an intermediate college in each mandal soon.
On Tuesday, Minister Lokesh held a review meeting with officials regarding intermediate education at his residence in Undavalli. He emphasised the importance of improving students’ learning outcomes in intermediate colleges and directed officials to take measures to raise the pass percentage in government junior colleges to match that of private institutions. He suggested efforts be made to publish photographs of students from government junior colleges who excel in competitive examinations like IIT and Medicine in daily newspapers. He also ordered that permissions for setting up junior colleges in remote areas be expedited.
Officials informed the minister that admissions have increased by 15,000 this year, attributed to the provision of free textbooks for students in government junior colleges. The Minister urged officials to aim for an additional 200,000 admissions next year. He was informed that revisions to working hours in junior colleges are being considered, along with reviews of student attendance and the issuance of progress cards. The Minister recommended that students receive training for bridge courses with top faculty. He announced that NCERT books will be introduced for first-year intermediate students starting next year, along with changes to the question paper pattern.
The meeting was attended by School Education Secretary Kona Sashidhar, Director Vijayaramaraju, Intermediate Education Director Kritika Shukla, and Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan State Project Director B. Srinivasa Rao, among others.