Roadmap for next six months to improve education system: Lokesh

The Minister for Education and IT, Nara Lokesh, has been working tirelessly to transform the State’s government schools into a model for the nation, spearheading the ‘Andhra Model Education’. As part of this effort, the State government has taken several steps to overhaul the school education system.
A comprehensive roadmap has been laid out for the next six months to further improve standards in government schools and junior colleges. The State is preparing a “One School-One App” dashboard to track real-time data on school conditions. Plans are underway to host State-level science expos and national sports meets under the School Games Federation. Another Mega PTM will be held at the end of the academic year to review and plan further improvements in educational standards.
New uniforms, bags, and competitive exam materials will be distributed to students from Classes 1 to 12 by the start of the next academic year. Plans are also in place to implement curricular reforms from the 2025-26 academic year, including partnerships with IIT Madras to effectively execute the Education Power programme.
One of the major initiatives under this model is filling the 16,437 vacant teacher positions. Following the signing of the Mega DSC file by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, the process is underway and a transparent Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) was conducted with 1,87,256 candidates qualified. Efforts have also been made to strengthen government schools, with the introduction of an academic calendar free from political affiliations. The State organised Mega Parent-Teacher Meetings (PTM) on December 7 across 44,000 government schools in a festive atmosphere.
Reforms in the curriculum have also been introduced to align with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the Nipun Bharat mission. In collaboration with organisations such as UNICEF, Pratham, J-PAL, Madi, and Leadership Equity (LFE), new teaching methodologies are being implemented besides bringing back 84,640 out-of-school children into the mainstream.
The government is working towards better data integration across sectors through APAAR ID. The government has also filled vacancies in SCERT and has recruited 342 teaching and 991 non-teaching staff for KGBVs. Moreover, 255 career and mental health counsellors have been appointed to support students in areas like career planning, mental growth, and conflict resolution.
The State has introduced a “Star Rating” system based on attendance, performance, and facilities like toilets, drinking water, and other amenities across 44,000 schools. As part of the mid-day meal programme from January, the diet charges for KGBVs have been increased from `1,400 to `1,600.
In a move to improve educational standards at junior colleges, the State government has extended working hours for government junior colleges, from 9 AM to 5 PM starting from the 2024-25 academic year, two lakh intermediate students in government and aided colleges will receive free textbooks, notebooks and school bags. Additionally, the State government has decided to provide mid-day meals to intermediate students in all 475 government junior colleges starting in January 2025.
Through these coordinated efforts, the Andhra Pradesh government is strengthening its education system, working towards a model that rivals private institutions, and yielding positive results over the past six months under Minister Nara Lokesh’s leadership.