Ushering in reforms in school education in A.P. with priority on students’ welfare

Andhra Pradesh government focuses on education reforms, prioritizing student welfare, teacher recruitment, curriculum updates, and infrastructure improvements.

The school education sector was one of the focus areas for the previous YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) government, which implemented a series of reforms aimed at overhauling the system.

However, not all of these measures have proved to be beneficial for the students, prompting a need for reassessment, feels the new dispensation.

The TDP-led coalition government is revisiting the policies introduced by its predecessor, following widespread protests and concerns raised by the stakeholders.

Officials at the helm emphasise that their goal is to continue the measures that benefit the students, while discarding components that may negatively impact their interests. “The welfare of students is our top priority,” says Secretary, School Education, Kona Sasidhar.

Andhra Pradesh has 58,950 schools. Out of these, 44,617 are government institutions, 13,249 private unaided schools, including Madrasas, and 1,084 private aided management schools. Together, they accommodate 72,20,633 students and 2,96,274 teachers. Of them, 1,85,023 work in the government schools.

The YSRCP government claimed that it had spent ₹63,000 crore on reforms ushered in to revamp the State-run schools through welfare initiatives. As part of the reforms, it had provided the first set of government schools (1,005 in number) affiliation to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in 2022-23, as part of a bigger plan to bring all the State-run schools within the CBSE fold in phases.

But, the current government, reverted the decision, bringing students of Class 10 back into the State Board fold.