In December, the HC had questioned the legality of the move to make English medium mandatory. Following this, the govt decided to invite the opinions of parents.
Minister for Education Adimulapu Suresh announced that parents’ committees have made a resolution in support of the implementation of English medium in the schools in the state. The Andhra Pradesh government had decided to introduce English as a medium of education in all the government schools in the state. However, as opposition parties strongly criticised the move, claiming that the Telugu language would be in jeopardy, and the High Court to questioning the legal validity of the decision, the government sought the opinion of parents in the matter.
Addressing the media on Wednesday, the minister said that parents’ committees from 43,000 schools across the state have handed over copies of the resolution to the government. He said this made it evident that the parents preferred the decision of the government to have English as the medium of education.
“Through these resolution copies, it was made clear that all the government schools across the state are eagerly waiting for English medium. Even in Chandrababu Naidu’s constituency, parents welcomed the state government’s idea of implementing English as the medium of education. Implementing English medium in government schools is a pleasure. There are many challenges with the decision – like training of teachers, bringing support materials, etc. and we are going to overcome every challenge,” the minister said.
Suresh further said that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is committed to improving the standards in the education sector and thus brought in English medium. “The students will be provided with textbooks, workbooks and study material too. From the coming academic year, students will also be provided with Jagan Anna Vidhya Kanuka, which comprises school bags, shoes, uniform, and books,” the Minister said, adding that the government will show the resolution copies to the High Court to prove their point.
In December, the High Court had questioned the state government over the legality of the move to make English medium mandatory. Following this, the government decided to invite the opinions of the stakeholders – the parents of school going children.
Reiterating the necessity for English, the minister said, “In today’s fast-changing world, the students have to be updated in every aspect, especially in maintaining communication skills, which happens only if they pursue their studies in English medium right from an early age.”
The government had set aside a budget of Rs 12,000 crore for this Telugu to English transformation.
