Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Friday announced the formation of an education commission to turn around the state's education system. The announcement was made at a meeting with intellectuals, retired IAS officers, and educationists at the Secretariat.
The CM announced the formation of a cabinet sub-committee with ministers D. Sridhar Babu, Danasari Anasuya Seethakka, and Ponnam Prabhakar to discuss and decide on the proposed changes.
A policy document will be created, and appointments for university vice chancellors, teaching, and non-teaching staff will be made soon.
Those who attended the meeting included Prof. Haragopal, Prof. Kodandaram, Prof. P.L. Visweswara Rao, Santha Sinha, Prof. Aldas Janaiah, Lakshminarayana, and former IAS officer Akunuri Murali. They provided several suggestions for addressing the current issues in the education system. They pointed the lack of skills and facilities in Anganwadis, advocating for their conversion into pre-schools with trained volunteers.
The Chief Minister highlighted the government's efforts to strengthen the education system including the release of notifications for over 11,000 posts, conducting the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) twice a year, and ensuring the provision of uniforms and textbooks to all students on the first day of school. Infrastructure improvements in schools will be overseen by state school committees.
The Chief Minister revealed plans to provide free transportation to students. The professors also pointed out the
decade-long delay in appointing university teaching staff and vice chancellors. In response, the Chief Minister assured them that search committees have been formed and appointments will be done soon.
Prof. Janaiah sought allocation of development grants to universities, while Prof. Haragopal and Santa Sinha highlighted Telangana's low ranking in the education index, stressing the need to improve standards at institutions like Osmania University.
Prof. Janaiah said the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank offer long-term loans at low interest rates to strengthen education systems, which the Chief Minister promised to consider.
The education department's budget, which decreased from 11 per cent to 6.4 per cent of the Budget since the formation of Telangana, needs to be increased to support these initiatives. The Chief Minister and the Deputy Chief Minister, both products of government schools, committed to increasing the budget to strengthen the public education system.
