January 3 to be celebrated as Women Teachers Day

Nellore: HRD Minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao said they had decided to celebrate January 3 as the Women Teacher’s Day in connection with birth anniversary of the first lady teacher of India and women’s rights activist Savitribai Phule for the first time in the State similar to the Teachers’ Day remembering teacher and former President Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

The Minister interacted with mediapersons at a hotel in the city on Tuesday and said they had plans to develop model schools in all revenue divisions.

He said the State government had come up with a novel concept of improving schools as model ones initially sprucing up a school at Chandrampalem near Madhurawada in Vizag city and with the inspiration they had planned to develop similar schools in all revenue divisions across the State.

Ganta Srinivasa Rao said for the reason the government has been contemplating to provide basic infrastructure with Rs 4,000 cr for the schools.

He said even though the State has been languishing with a deficit of around Rs 16,500 cr after bifurcation they had allocated Rs 21,500 cr for education sector to ensure bright future for students of government-run schools.

The HRD Minister said the government schools were having excellent teacher force, and others but they have been failing to compete with private schools. Still, some schools were showing excellent results and the State government is planning to organise a two-day State-level workshop shortly inviting two best headmasters from each constituency that comes to around 350 teachers where they would be trained on topics besides obtaining suggestions on how to provide qualitative education in the State-run schools.

The workshop will also be utilised as a platform for sharing the best practices of teachers across the State for inspiration.

He assured that they would encourage philanthropists and old students who studied in government schools to take part in the programme of improving infrastructure in schools and they got Rs 10 cr through Badi Runam Teerchukundam programme.

He also said they would be incurring Rs 100 cr for digital classes in the State and the government is providing Rs 70 crore and the NRIs will be contributing another Rs 30 crore for the activity.

The Minister said they would be taking up recruitment for filling up 1,100 Assistant professor posts through APPSC and a sub-committee will be formed for looking after issues of contract teachers.

He appealed to contract lecturers to join duties keeping in view of forthcoming examinations.

He also said they were strengthening School Management Committees across the State and they had issued GO making school officials to conduct annual day compulsorily every year.

Ganta Srinivasa Rao said they would constitute a committee for preparing modalities for conducting EAMCET online exam from next year and as usual this year. He said the details would be announced on Thursday.