Copyright thehindu
Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Nara Lokesh on Wednesday (November 5) directed officials to make arrangements to send 78 ‘Best Teacher Award’ recipients to Singapore on November 27 on a study tour on advanced educational practices. Speaking at a review meeting at his residence in Undavalli, he said teachers will visit leading schools in Singapore from November 27 to December 2 to study in detail the teaching methods, classroom environment and advanced technologies in use there. They must then prepare a report suggesting how such practices could be implemented to improve educational standards in Andhra Pradesh. He asked the officials to organise student assemblies on November 26, coinciding with Constitution Day and to hold a statewide Mega Parent-Teacher Meeting on December 5, similar to last year’s event, in a festive atmosphere with the participation of public representatives. Mr. Lokesh pointed out that the LEAP app was designed to enable parents to regularly monitor their children’s performance and called for wide publicity of this initiative. He directed the District Education Officers (DEOs) and Mandal Education Officers (MEOs) to regularly visit schools and monitor performance on the ground. He emphasised on the need to strengthen the e-Office system and prepare a 100-day action plan on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN), according to LEAP-1 guidelines. The Minister also discussed plans to set up Kadapa-model smart kitchens across the State to improve school meals and called for effective implementation of PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) and other national benchmark-based assessment systems. He also wanted the officials to focus on the establishment and infrastructure of Bhavita Autism Support Centres across the State, incorporating the recommendations of the legislative committee formed for this purpose. He said the officials should motivate and encourage Class 8 students to apply for National Means-cum-Merit Scholarships (NMMS). The Minister also discussed with the officials plans to establish a central library in Amaravati, strengthen public libraries and set up digital libraries in schools. Secretary, Human Resources Department, Kona Shashidhar, Commissioner, School Education Department, Vijaya Rama Raju and Samagra Shiksha State coordinator B. Srinivasa Rao were present.
