Plan To Spend Rs 150 Crore For Central Library In Amaravati: Lokesh

Vijayawada:Education Minister Nara Lokesh has said the government would overhaul both public education and library systems and turn them into national models.

Laying out a roadmap for education in the AP assembly on Monday, Lokesh said he visualized a day when there would be “Admissions Closed” boards outside all the government schools, reflecting a high demand. “This year, over 100 schools have displayed such boards. We are working to replicate this success across all the 42,000 government schools,” he said.

Replying to a question from Narsaraopet MLA Chadalawada Aravind Babu, the minister alleged that the YSRC government’s GO 117 had kept nearly 10 lakh poor students away from education. “The order, along with GO 85, was cancelled in May 2025, and fresh GOs were issued to introduce the One Class–One Teacher model.”

He said, “Before our government came in, only 1,398 schools followed this model. Now 9,620 schools have adopted it. Similarly, the number of upper primary schools has been increased from 124 to 729.”

The minister stated that under the Mana Badi–Mana Bhavishyathu initiative, new classrooms and facilities were being added. An online donor-driven portal has been launched to ensure transparency, allowing contributors to support specific schools and even lend their names, he said.

He said the legislators have been entrusted with improving the standards of low-rated schools under a new star rating system.

The government is also providing transport assistance for students living over 1km away from primary schools. “We will deposit `600 per month for 10 months in their parents’ accounts. Nearly 70,000 students will benefit from this scheme this year,” he said.

On the library front, Nara Lokesh announced the construction of a `150 crore Central Library in Amaravati, which would be ready in 24 months. The real-estate Shobha group has pledged `100 crore for library development, he said.

The minister pointed out, “Currently, Andhra Pradesh has only 13 district libraries. We would raise this to 26 to match the rise in the number of new districts. Model libraries would be built in all 175 assembly constituencies. The Mangalagiri model library is in its final stage and will open in October, while Visakhapatnam will soon see a Rs 20 crore model facility.”

Lokesh admitted that library cess recovery remained low — 40 per cent in 2022–23, 45 per cent in 2023–24, and 52 per cent this year. “Talks were under way with Panchayat Raj and municipal departments for their improvement.

Besides this, to expand access, a digital library system will be rolled out, including a mobile app, within 100 days.”