Lokesh Pushes For AP Model Of Education, Reforms

VIJAYAWADA: Making a spirited call for bipartisan cooperation, education minister N. Lokesh on Wednesday urged legislators to join hands in building an “Andhra Model of Education” that other states and even countries could emulate.

Presenting the Budget demands in the state Assembly, he proposed `32,308.31 crore for school education, `12,566.80 crore for higher education, `11,231.91 crore for skill development and training, and `536.28 crore for IT & electronics.

Expressing confidence that reforms initiated by the government would yield improved academic outcomes this year, he said a detailed report card on this would be presented in the next session.

Lokesh appealed to MLAs to adopt two schools each, double enrolment, and develop at least one school in every constituency with 1,000 students. “Let us treat every child in a government school as our own,” he said, urging weekly visits and structured feedback on infrastructure and attendance.

Targeting the previous government, Lokesh alleged that GO-117 led to 12,512 single-teacher schools, severely affecting learning outcomes. Between 2019 and 2024, nearly 10 lakh students reportedly left government schools. He claimed misuse of the “drop box” system to inflate enrolment data and pointed to a sharp decline in national rankings across language, mathematics and science.

The minister said 16,000 teacher posts were filled through a mega DSC within 150 days despite legal hurdles, and fresh recruitment notifications would be issued within 90 days. A Teacher Transfer Act has been introduced to ensure transparency and automatic promotions based on seniority.

Emphasising foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN), Lokesh announced clicker-based active learning pilots in 300 schools, with plans to extend the model to 46,000 schools in two years. The LEAP app links parents and teachers, while a ‘No Bag Day’ has been introduced on Saturdays.

In higher education, Lokesh alleged politically motivated vice-chancellor appointments and non-collection of `4,000 crore in pending fee reimbursements during the YSRC term.

“Merit-based appointments and faculty recruitment would begin soon. The government aims to create 20 lakh jobs over five years through skill development, job melas and overseas placements,” the minister said.

Lokesh also said `1,000 crore would be saved over five years in school kits and nutrition supply reforms. Libraries would be strengthened while a world-class central library would be set up in Amaravati, backed by a `100 crore donation from Shobha Realty.