Vijayawada: To create awareness of the schemes being implemented by the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the authorities have decided to utilise folk artwork (Kala Jata) in their campaign.
AP HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao formally flagged off folk art campaign vans from his camp office on Friday.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Rao said that the state government was giving immense importance to education; so much so that despite facing a cash crunch, it plans to spend Rs 25,000 crore on education.
He said that the TD government has introduced and implemented schemes like Badikostaa and Badipilustondi to bring dropouts back to school and to increase attendance so that the ultimate goal of 100 per cent literacy is met.
He informed that the state government has implemented another programme, Badi Runam Teerchukundam, to involve the public in development of schools.
Mr Rao reminded that the state was at 17th position in 2014 but was not placed third when it came to education.
He said that with each passing day, more and more people are putting their faith in state-run schools, and nearly 1.17 lakh students have joined government schools from private ones.
Mr Rao said that to increase awareness about the education development in villages, the campaign vehicles and folk artworks would come in hand. These campaign vehicles will cover about 1,200 villages in 20 days.
The minister said that the ancient folk arts like Hari Katha and Burra Katha will help generate interest and influence people.
Samagra Sikha Abhiyan state project director Raghunatha Reddy, state community mobilisation officer B. Krishnamohan and others were present.
