Lokesh Pushes for Infra Upgrade, Enrolment Drive in Schools
Lokesh directed the departments to pool funds and complete the works at the earliest, while identifying schools without permanent buildings in agency and remote areas for immediate action.
Vijayawada: Education minister Nara Lokesh has directed the officials to fast-track infrastructure upgrades in government schools, intensify enrolment drives, and introduce a robust face-recognition attendance system across higher educational institutions from the next academic year.
Reviewing the performance of the school and intermediate education departments, the minister said basic infrastructure works must be entrusted to school management committees for their speedy execution. All government schools should be upgraded to 3-star infrastructure standards, while the 60 schools with over 1,000 students each should be equipped with 5-star facilities, he said.
Commending the competition for seats at Nidamarru UPS in Mangalagiri constituency as a “positive trend,” Lokesh said such models should be replicated across the state. Officials must ensure leak-proof buildings, safe drinking water, proper toilets, painting, and furniture by leveraging SMCs.
Officials said a total of Rs 143.27 crore is required for constructing additional classrooms in model primary schools, which is being taken up by the state school infrastructure corporation. Another Rs 571.11 crore is needed this year for providing the minimum facilities in these schools.
Lokesh directed the departments to pool funds and complete the works at the earliest, while identifying schools without permanent buildings in agency and remote areas for immediate action.
Focusing on enrolment, the minister called for a door-to-door campaign to increase admissions by 10 per cent this academic year, with participation from MLAs and public representatives.
He stressed that dropout rates must be reduced to zero and no school-age child should remain out of the education system. Efforts should also be made to improve attendance and promote gender sensitivity among students.
On sports, Lokesh sought coordination with the Sports Authority of India to identify and train talented students in disciplines such as badminton, archery and kho-kho, and explored conducting leagues at the college level.
The minister also reviewed guidelines for permitting new private junior colleges and lauded government junior college students for securing top marks on par with private institutions. He asked officials to widely hail such achievers and felicitate them under the “Shining Stars” initiative.
In a separate review with higher education officials, Lokesh called for stringent measures to implement face-recognition-based attendance in all government, aided and private unaided degree and engineering colleges. He said the system would enhance transparency and improve the quality of education.
Senior officials, including HRD secretary Kona Sasidhar, Intermediate education director Ranjit Basha, school education director Thameem Ansariya, infrastructure corporation MD Devan Reddy, and higher education commissioner Narayana Bharat Gupta, attended the meetings.
