Poverty should not prevent children from economically weaker sections from pursuing quality education. This is why the government is changing the face of government schools through a series of schemes to take care of every aspect of a child’s growing years, Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy said here on Thursday.
Speaking at the launch of Jagananna Vidya Kanuka at a Zilla Parishad School in Punadipadu under Kankipadu mandal in Krishna district, Mr. Jagan said about 43 lakh children of classes 1 to 10 in government schools would receive kits worth ₹650 crore in the next three days. The kits include three pairs of uniform cloth along with stitching charges, textbooks, notebooks, a pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, a belt and a school bag.
Quoting Nobel laureate and activist for girl education from Pakistan Malala Yousafzai and Nelson Mandela, the Chief Minister said the government had realised the need for comprehensive changes in the education sector to enable children to compete with the world. The fact that even after 73 years of Independence, 34% people in the State were not literate spoke volumes about the priorities of the previous governments, he said.
Mr. Jagan said the TDP government never seemed to have realised why such large number of children were dropping out of schools, and said his government had ushered in revolutionary changes, from the anganwadi centres to the institutes of higher education.
Referring to Mana Badi-Nadu Nadu, he said schools were given a facelift and they were now equipped with proper toilets with water facility, fans and tubelights in classrooms, green boards and good furniture besides construction of compound walls, new kitchens and painting the buildings in vibrant colours.
Major schemes
Mr. Jagan listed other major schemes such as Amma Vodi, under which a financial assistance of ₹15,000 was deposited in the bank accounts of women who sent their children to government schools. “Nearly 43 lakh women and 82 lakh students benefited from the scheme,” he said, informing that the second phase of the programme would start on January 9.
He spoke about Sampoorna Poshana drive that was all about a nutritious diet to pregnant women and neonatal mothers at a cost of ₹1,800 crore to the exchequer and how Anganwadi centres were being transformed into YSR pre-primary schools.
Speaking about Jagananna Goru Mudda, Mr Jagan said like no other Chief Minister had ever done, he had taken personal care in deciding the daily menu to ensure that the children were served nutritious food. Complete fee reimbursement under Vidya Deevena and Vasathi Deevena programmes were aimed at helping economically backward students pursue their higher studies without any stress, he added.
Education Minister A. Suresh said children were eager to attend school and enjoy the new facilities. Ministers Peddireey Ramachandra Reddy, Perni Venkataramaiah, Kodali Venkateswara Rao and Vellampalli Srinivas, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, Chairpersons of the Education Regulatory and Monitoring Commissions and officials of the School Education departments were present.