The second phase of the Nadu-Nedu programme in schools and colleges will be launched soon at a cost of ₹4,000 crore, Education Minister A. Suresh has said.
After laying the foundation for the Pharmacy Block and hostels for boys and girls of JNTU-Anantapur on the Oil Technological and Pharmaceutical Research Institute here on Tuesday, Mr. Suresh said that the government was bringing sweeping changes in the education sector to make education accessible for the poorest of the poor.
Fee regulation
“Fee regulation will very soon be implemented in the State to curb charging excessive tuition and other fee by the schools and colleges,” Mr. Suresh said.
A qualitative change was being brought in the pedagogy by filling all the 2,000 teaching posts in the colleges and 250 backlog posts kept pending by the previous government, he said.
Ten lakh school and college students had opted for receiving a high-end laptop instead of the Amma Vodi and Vidya Deevena financial assistance, Mr. Suresh said. Among them were 35% of school students and 10% of college students.
AKU establishment
The government had allocated ₹3.5 crore for the establishment of Andhra Kesari University in Prakasam district, and it would be a reality soon. The university, with 18 multi-disciplinary departments and 160 faculty members, would focus on teacher training programmes at the UG and PG levels, he said.
“The government has been allocating ₹30,000 per year in the budget for education in the last three years, Mr. Suresh observed, and added that five universities – JNTU Anantapur and Kakinada, SV University, Andhra University and IIIT – would be brought into the top 10 of the MoE’s National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF).
JNTU-Anantapur Vice-Chancellor G. Ranga Janardhana, R&B Minister M. Sankarnarayana, Anantapur Urban MLA Anantha Venkatarami Reddy, and Joint Collector A. Siri were present.
