Want to create world class leaders through quality education: AP CM Jagan Mohan Reddy

The ‘Jagananna Vasathi Deevena’ is one of the welfare schemes offered by the state government to provide financial aid to students from economically weaker backgrounds pursuing post-secondary education.

Speaking to the students, the CM said that the revolutionary changes made to the education system in the state of Andhra Pradesh are enabling the young generation to reach greater objectives. “Our mission is to prepare youth to become world-class leaders. I want every child to strive to be the next Satya Nadella, the Indian-born CEO of Microsoft,” he said.

“The phrase ‘Knowledge is power’ is a well-known proverb, but I prefer the phrase to be ‘Education is power’,” he said. Reddy noted that the state’s private institutions are now competing with the government colleges and emphasised how the government schools and colleges are now on par with private institutions. He said that studies indicate that there has been a 50 per cent increase in the number of engineering students in the state.

So far, under the scheme, the government has credited Rs 4,275 crore to 25,17,245 mothers through the transparent method of DBT. By combining both ‘Jagananna Vasathi Deevena’ and ‘Jagananna Vidya Deevena’, the government has spent Rs 14,223 crore, including Rs 1,778 crore pending dues from the previous TDP government. The ‘Jagananna Vidya Deevena’ scheme provides fees for higher education courses to eligible students.

The CM said that due to reforms in the education sector and the various schemes to help students, the enrolment has improved. He said that the number of students who passed intermediate school but were unable to enrol in higher education in 2018–19 was 81,813; however, in 2022–23, that number has decreased to 22,387 thanks to the implementation of the ‘Jagananna Vidya Deevena’ and ‘Jagananna Vasathi Deevena’.

Compared to the national average of 27 per cent, the drop-out rate for students entering higher education has drastically decreased, falling to 6.62 per cent in 2022-23.

For 2018-19, the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) was 32.4 per cent. Steps are being taken to increase the GER to 70 per cent. The average number of girls enrolling in colleges per 100 boys has climbed from 81 in 2018-19 to 94 in 2020-21 (Gender Parity Index)

The campus placements have also made a quantum jump from 37,000 In 2018-19 to 85,000 in 2021-22, the CM said.