The Andhra Pradesh government will introduce Lower Kindergarten (LKG) and Upper Kindergarten (UKG) in the form of Pre-Primary PP1 and PP2 in government schools. The same was decided in a review meeting on school education by Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy and announced officially on Tuesday.
As per the official information, the CM also added that care should be taken for drafting the syllabus for PP1 and PP2, and the syllabus should also be synergised with the primary education. Besides, Anganwadi centres would also be brought adjacent to the school complexes for better coordination.
“The 55,000 Anganwadis, of which 35,000 do not have their own buildings, should be placed besides the schools,” he said.
In the review meeting, when the officials brought to his notice that in 270 mandals there are no junior colleges, the Chief Minister said that high schools can be converted into junior colleges and the officials should see to it that vacancies are filled up, said the official note.
It was stressed that the teaching in junior colleges should focus on competitive exams and steps should be taken to help the students prepare for IIT and JEE entrance tests. Learning concepts should be developed with digital education, the note said.
To improve English language standard among students, CM said that TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) type of exams should be conducted. “The opinion of experts should be taken on which class digital education should be introduced in,” he said.
The statement from the CMO further said, “The proposal to provide dongle or iPad form eighth or ninth standard should be considered towards imparting high-end digital learning. One section will be devoted for high school dropouts in Skill Development Centres along with those who completed ITI and Polytechnic.”
It was also directed to set up one building in every parliamentary constituency to train the teachers. The Chief Minister also added that there should be regular monitoring of private schools and there should be a complaint box in every school.
Meanwhile, stress was also laid on Goru Mudda — a scheme through which quality food would be served to students. CM asked officials not to compromise on food quality at any cost.
The CM added that, “The utensils used for cooking should be clean and a shed for cooking should also be set up. This should be included as the tenth item in SOP (standard operating procedure) of Nadu Nedu in schools. Hygiene should also be given priority in schools. A mechanism should be developed to fully utilise the services of village secretariat staff.”
Several higher officials were present at the meeting. Some of them included Minister for School Education Adimulapu Suresh, Principal Secretary Education B Rajasekhar, School Education Commissioner V China Veerabhadrudu.