Press Releases Archive

Andhra Pradesh lags behind not merely the other States in South India but the entire country in the literacy rate, said Lok Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan today, correcting Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy.

(Launching the ‘education fortnight’ on June 13, the Chief Minister had said that he was ashamed to admit that Andhra Pradesh lagged behind all other States in South India).

Dr. JP said that Andhra Pradesh lags behind all the large States and is competing with Jharkhand for the bottom of the literacy ladder.

Dr. JP visited two schools in Kukatpally constituency (which he represents in the Assembly) today, following their reopening after the summer vacation.

Talking to media, Dr. JP said schools continued to be in a pathetic state because the Government does not have the political will to improve education, although funds are not a constraint. The State is likely to spend only Rs.700 crore of the Rs.1800 crore available for improving infrastructure under Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and Madhyamika Siksha Abhiyan this year, he said.

Dr. JP pointed out that the State Government spent nearly Rs.15000 crore on primary and secondary education every year, incurring an expenditure of Rs.15000 on every student. Yet, most schools do not have basic amenities. The Government primary and high schools for girls (located in the same compound in Kukatpally), which he visited today, have nearly 1000 students on their rolls. Yet the schools do not have adequate number of teachers, a playground or drinking water.

Dr. JP said that the poorest of the poor, mostly from illiterate families, attended Government schools. Seven years after education, 25 percent of students cannot read a paragraph in Telugu and 75 percent cannot do a simple division. Absence of adequate number of teachers, class-rooms and other infrastructure are responsible for the parlous state of Government schools. “Teachers are not to blame; if there is one section in society which is not tainted by corruption, it is teachers.”

With a view to remedying the situation, Dr. JP said, he has enlisted the services of volunteers to supplement teachers’ efforts in coaching children. As a result, the percentage of passes in the tenth class went up this year. The Government is implementing a Rs.5.5-crore plan, drawn up by Lok Satta Party activists with the assistance of volunteers, to improve schools in the constituency.

Dr. JP praised Mr. N. Seshagiri Rao and other volunteers for undertaking the school improvement project.

Money will not be a limiting factor for entering politics, Lok Satta Party President Dr. Jayaprakash Narayan told the party’s student leaders here today. If they have character, integrity, vision and leadership qualities, people will not hesitate to support them monetarily, he added.

Addressing Vidyarthi Satta’s State Working Committee, Dr. JP counseled the youth to shed the illusion that they can transform society for the better through the barrel of the gun.

Dr. JP said that one need not sacrifice one’s entire life for serving society. It is enough if one spares a little time and a few resources even as one pursues one’s routine life.

Ninety-four percent of the future belonged to the youth, he said and asked them to strive to build a society in which every one has an equal opportunity to grow.

Politics is not a means for personal enrichment. It is a noble endeavor meant to serve society. The youth should regard the nation as above party, and the party as above individual. Unfortunately, some politicians regard themselves as more important than the party and the nation.

He asked Vidyarthi Satta leaders to enroll voters and help them exercise their franchise in their own interest. People tended to view politics as a battle between political parties or leaders, forgetting that it influenced their lives day in and day out.

Vidyarthi Satta State President P. Sivaji Raju said that the organization planned to enroll 50,000 students as members and offer training in leadership to 10,000.