Vijayawada: Education minister Botsa Satyanarayana on Friday asserted that by making IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum available in 45,000 government schools across the state, the state government is going to ensure that every student comes up to the international standards in education.
Addressing a press conference here, he said AP government has already entered into an MoU for making the IB curriculum available in five years at a cost of Rs 149 crore.
The minister disclosed that while in other states, IB has been introduced only in select schools, in AP, it will be available in all schools. On accusations that the state government is spending enormous amounts on bringing in the IB curriculum, he maintained that every penny spent on education becomes a boon for poor students.
He pointed out that till now, only governments of Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi have signed an MoU for introducing International Baccalaureate in their schools.
Satyanarayana declared that state government has brought in revolutionary changes in government schools. This will enable government school students to successfully compete with those passing out of corporate schools. He underlined that from Class III onwards, TOEFL will be available to students. Students will be able to appear for TOEFL and collect their certificates.
The minister refuted allegations by Jana Sena leaders that introducing TOEFL is a scam. He maintained that for the progress of students, transparency is important at every stage. He pointed out that tabs have been procured for eighth class students through open tender. He claimed that to provide TOEFL content to students, state government is spending only ₹7.50 per student.
Satyanarayana expressed indignation that while the government's aim is to provide quality education of the highest standards even to poor, there are some leaders who are trying to sling mud. He affirmed that the government will move forward to ensure that poor do not remain forever poor.
Earlier, the minister held a meeting with principal secretary (School Education) Praveen Prakash, school education commissioner S. Suresh Kumar, comprehensive punishment SPD B. Srinivasa Rao, ASPD Dr. K.V. Srinivasulu Reddy, KGBV secretary D. Madhusudan Rao and government textbooks director Rabindranath Reddy.
