Telangana's new education policy to help students compete with the world: CM

Hyderabad, Sep 17 (IANS) Telangana’s new education policy will be a blend of language, basic knowledge, and skills to enable students to compete with the world, Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy said on Wednesday.

At a review meeting, the Chief Minister said that the new policy is being designed to suit the ground reality, studies, and future needs. He said the policy should be a beacon of the country’s education in future.

He observed that the current education system lacks important elements of language, basic knowledge and skills, and the new policy will have these elements so that students can compete globally.

The new education policy will also be included in the TelanganaRising Vision Document-2047, which is to be released on December 9 this year. The CM instructed the educationists to form sub-committees according to their interests and prepare the best document.

He stated that the government has decided to overhaul the entire education sector in the state. Stating that there is no land and funds for distribution among the poor to eradicate poverty, he said that the only weapon to root out poverty is quality education for the needy.

Recalling that India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, recognised the importance of education and established higher educational institutions like universities and IITs in the country, CM Revanth Reddy expressed concern that the existing education system was not generating talented persons to grab the opportunities created in the country and across the world after the introduction of the economic liberalisation policies.

He noted that a large number of our youth are excelling in the software sector due to the advent of engineering colleges. However, not more than 10 per cent of the lakhs of students passing out as engineers are getting jobs. The main reason, according to him, is a lack of sufficient skills.

He voiced concern that despite allocating huge funds to the education sector, the number of students in government schools is decreasing day by day. Private schools are offering education from nursery, LKG, and UKG, while the education in government schools starts from Class 1. Those who admit their children to private schools for nursery are not ready to shift to the government schools. Parents are admitting their children to private schools because the students are given adequate attention.

The Chief Minister also reminded that the state government recruited teachers soon after coming to power to maintain a healthy teacher-student ratio in government schools. Promotions and transfer of teachers were also taken up to ensure the teaching staff focus on delivering quality education to the students.

Reiterating that the government is ready to spend money on education liberally, CM Revanth Reddy said that the government has decided to set up a special Education Corporation and spend the funds to improve infrastructure and educational standards.

--IANS

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