Overwhelming response to state schools creates textbooks shortage in AP

VIJAYAWADA: The overwhelming response to the government schools due to improvement in standards has resulted in a shortage of textbooks for these schools in Andhra Pradesh, officials said on Sunday.

As many as 6 lakh students enrolled in government and aided schools this year owing to the initiatives undertaken by the YSRC government to improve the facilities and standards there. The textbooks were printed based on the 2019-20 data, with a 5 per cent buffer, but it still created a shortage, it was stated.

Chief secretary to the school education department, Buditi Rajasekhar, said lakhs of students chose to enroll themselves in government schools this time. Most of these students got transferred during the months of November, December, January and February –ie, even after the schools reopened.

Printing of textbooks and workbooks concluded by April, 2020 with a 5 per cent buffer. The spike in the number of students opting for government institutions this time has surpassed all expectations, the chief secretary said.

Rajasekhar said that on March 4, after discussions attended by representatives of the School Education department and representatives of the government printing section, an additional Rs 7 crore was sanctioned for the purpose of printing the required number of text/workbooks. These would be supplied to the 4,11,427 students who shifted to government/government-aided schools post-November.

The books are expected to be distributed to the students within 15 days, he said.

Rajasekhar said that as of September 30, 2019, a total of 38,97,156 students were registered in government/government-aided schools. As the government was expecting the number to rise, owing to the initiatives taken by it to better the standard of education at government educational institutions, books for as many as 40,92,014 students were printed – ie, 5 per cent more than the existing figure of 38,97,156 as on the cut-off date.