It's only merger of classes, not schools, clarifies Principal Secretary

Vijayawada: Principal secretary of Education department B Rajasekhar said false campaign was being spread in the name of schools merger and made it clear that it is not a schools merger and it is only a classes merger.

Speaking to mediapersons at the Secretariat at Velagapudi on Monday, the principal secretary said that Education Department has been formulating policies following fundamental principles focusing on the interests of students. He said the policies are child-centric and supposed to be good for students.

The principal secretary said that as per the Annual status of Education Report (ASER) report and National assessment survey there was an increase in poverty. He said the UNICEF also highlighted how many learning hours were lost by students due to the Covid pandemic and launched a campaign to reopen the schools. The pandemic contributed to the fall in educational standards among those coming from the poorer sections. As per annual survey of education report, only 22 per cent of standard 3 students have been able to read standard 2 books. He said the standards indicate that foundation is week.

He said as per the National Education Policy (NEP), the challenges should be addressed by the State government through innovative measures through rationalisation of schools by 2025.

The principal secretary said that all the States were trying to bring changes in education system as per NEP. He said as per the NEC directions, pre schools should be co-located with high schools to establish continuity. He said AP is the first State to introduce foundation schools with PP I and PP II. As part of the policy, 3rd, 4th and 5th classes were merged with high schools to provide teaching with subject teachers to improve basic foundation standards.

The principal secretary made it clear that there will be no question of closure of schools and removal of teachers under the merger of classes. He said that the State government has taken the decision as per the NEP spirit. "Our learning levels are poor and efforts are on to improve learning levels," he said. He pointed out that at the same time the infrastructure in schools has also improved. He said that the government has been addressing all issues to improve education value chain.

The principal secretary said during 2021-22, as many as 2,943 primary schools were mapped with 2,800 high schools in adjacent campus or below 250 metres. He stressed the need for optimal utilisation of resources for value addition. He said 823 objections were received on merger of classes and a committee was appointed to resolve the issue.