Intermediate course in govt schools demanded

Nellore: Zilla Parishad (ZP) Chairman Bommireddy Raghavendra Reddy staged a protest here on Thursday, demanding the State government to launch Intermediate course in the ZP government schools in rural areas across the district.

Speaking on the occasion, the ZP chief lamented that college dropout ratio is high in rural segments as they are few government Inter colleges in the district. He has stated that academic standards in government schools have improved as they are competing with corporate schools.

He has expressed anguish as parents from the weaker sections of the society were unable to admit their children in private Intermediate colleges due to exorbitant fees collected by them. The ZP chief made it clear that he is not against the corporate colleges.

He requested the legislators to exert pressure on the government for starting Intermediate course in government schools from the next academic year onwards. He explained that the ZP council had recommended to the government through a resolution in this regard in 2016.

Only 2,000 seats are available in government Intermediate colleges when 20,000 students from ZP government schools are appearing for SSC exams, he said, adding empowerment of women is the main thrust for increasing the illiteracy in the district.

He stressed on the need for introducing the Secondary Education Extension Design (SEED) curriculum in government schools. MLC Vithapu Balasubrahmanyam, YSRCP District Convener and Sarvepalli MLA Kakani Govardhan Reddy have extended their support to the protest of the ZP chief. ZP Vice-Chairman P Sirisha and others were present.