Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday assured that not a single employee will be laid off from the schools and Anganwadi centres of the state in the process of implementing the New Education Policy (NEP). He also assured that no Anganwadi centre will be closed and clarified that the changes to the education system are being implemented after taking these two factors into consideration. Jagan instructed officials that two types of schools should be set up. The first one consisting of preparatory classes 1 and 2 should be within a km's distance from the students. Other schools from Class 3 to Class 10 should be located within a distance of 3 km from the students.
"The main purpose of this policy is to keep the teacher-student ratio rational, as it's not appropriate to have one teacher for four students or a single teacher for a large number of students. The approach of a single teacher teaching all the subjects is also incorrect," he said. According to the Chief Minister, it is important to maintain a balanced teacher-student ratio in the foundation courses, as mental development is essential for children below the age of eight years. The Chief Minister said the government aims to provide quality education, and called for the state's education policy to be in sync with the NEP.
Likewise, he said the government is also looking forward to offering quality education in English medium. Reviewing the Nadu-Nedu scheme, Jagan directed the officials to prepare an action plan to complete the scheme's work in the Anganwadi centres in two years' time. The move may bring students from classes 3-5 under High Schools.
Earlier, CM YS Jagan directed the officials to merge the Anganwadi centers with state run primary schools while stating that the staff of the both schools should be used for laying a stronger foundation for children. A CD (Compact Disk) and a spoken english book designed by the Women Development and Child Welfare (WD-CW) department was also released. AP government is trying to streamline the education system through schemes such as Nadu Nedu, Amma Vodi, that aims at assisting quality of education, welfare and infrastructure in public schools.
(With IANS inputs)