Vijayawada: Government to include dictionaries in student kits

Vijayawada: In an initiative,which can be described as first of its kind in the country intended to give the thrust to its prestigious English medium education, the State government will include dictionaries in the 'Student Kits' to be supplied to school students under the "Jagananna Vidya Kanuka".

Dictionaries are integral part of the paraphernalia of a student and are absolutely indispensable for students in equipping themselves with the knowledge of target language in its entirety.

True to the dictum "Catch them young and make them grow", Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has thought to introduce English medium instruction at the primary and secondary level of education in government-managed schools to ensure that children from less privileged families do not lag behind their counterparts in private schools in terms of access to quality education and withstanding stiff competition in global job market.

A series of steps have been taken up by the State government to improve the English language skills of both the students and the teachers. Premier institutes like RIE, EFLU, Ambedkar University and Anna University were roped in for the purpose.

As many as 24 textbooks have been redesigned to make them child friendly. Semester wise bilingual textbooks have been brought out to help students to learn the language in a much easier manner.

Though the government has been promoting English language instruction in schools in a big way, it is not oblivious to the fact that promotion of Telugu is equally important for students. Hence, it continues to implement Telugu language as a compulsory subject.

It may be recalled that the State government launched its prestigious "Jagananna Vidya Kanuka" on October 8, 2020 to supply student Kits. With the government's decision to add a copy of dictionary to the student Kit, the students hailing from below poverty line families will now have an opportunity to further improve their knowledge of English.

Success of various initiatives undertaken by the government has resulted in increase of around 4 lakh new admissions into government schools this academic year.