Two lakh private school students in AP shift to govt. schools

Amaravati, Nov. 18 (IANS): More than 2 lakh students have left private schools in Andhra Pradesh to join government schools in 2020, propelled by the myriad schemes introduced to encourage public education.

“A total of 42.46 lakh students have enrolled themselves in government and government aided schools this year, which is 2.68 lakh more than the enrolment figure from 2019, which stood at 39.78 lakh,” said an official statement.

Out the increased admissions, 2,01,833 students choose to leave private schools for studies in public schools.

“Government’s success in reversing the trend can be attributed to a plethora of student – parent oriented schemes implemented since 2019. Jagananna Ammavodi, Nadu-Nedu and Jaganna Vidya Kanuka form the base of the government’s drive to place government schools at par with their corporate counterparts,” said an official.

As part of these schemes, the state government is revamping infrastructure at government schools, distributing free school kits and others.

Under Jaganna Ammavodi scheme, eligible mothers of students from classes 1 – 12 will receive Rs 15,000 incentive so as to not discontinue their children’s education to employ them for extra money.

As part of Nadu-Nedu, the state government is renovating over 45,000 schools in an effort to provide better facilities to government schools students.

“Apart from major infrastructural renovations, each of the schools will also be equipped with a dedicated English lab in order to facilitate modern learning. 15,715 schools were taken up in the first phase of the project and are expected to be finished by January, 2021,” said the official.

Jagananna Vidya Kanuka offers basic necessities to students for free, such as schools bags, uniforms, books, socks, belt and others.

“This not only reduces the financial turmoil that poor families are put through at the start of each academic year but also helps the government control dropout rates,” said the official.

Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has already stated that children are the future of the state and he would invest in their education.

“Investing in education is investing on my kids, the next generation of my state,” said Reddy.

All branches of education, from kindergarten to college and university in the southern state have a strong presence of profiteering corporate players, who minted money over the decades, taking gullible students and parents for a ride with their make believe promises.

The state government is bringing reforms in the education sector in a big way, illustrated by its attempt to make intermediate admissions only through online mode for first year students this year.