Minister defends online education plan with BYJU’s

VIJAYAWADA: Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana defended state government’s agreement with a private online education player. He asserted that it is a company with which 150 million students are enrolled for online education.

He maintained that the agreement will help 35 lakh students of 4th to 8th classes in government schools of AP improve their knowledge through online education, apart from regular schooling. The private online education player will enable the state government to increase standard of education in government schools, improve proficiency of students in English language and enable them to cope with CBSE syllabus.

The minister pointed out that state government will be spending ₹20,000 on each student for educating children in government schools through an app.

Speaking to media at ruling YSRC party’s central office here on Saturday, he challenged TD chief N. Chandrababu Naidu and other Telugu Desam leaders to join a debate on the agreement the government has reached with the private online education player for educating students. They must not just keep harping that the agreement is wrong.

Satyanarayana said abusive language used by Naidu during his Vizianagaram tour shows the latter as lost confidence and is frustrated. He asked the former chief minister why he provided English education to his son Lokesh while opposing the same poor and rural students.