Telangana aims to provide quality education to every child, says Dy CM Bhatti

Hyderabad, Nov 11 (TNT): Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu on Wednesday said the Congress government was committed to providing quality education to every child in the state, from pre-primary to higher education, through innovative initiatives such as Young India Integrated Residential Schools and Telangana Public Schools.

Speaking at the foundation stone-laying ceremony for a Telangana Public School in Warangal West Assembly constituency, he said the government aimed to make Telangana compete with the world’s top 10 nations in education and had emerged as a pace-setter for other states.

Referring to the Socio-Economic, Education, Employment, Political and Caste (SEEEPC) survey conducted by the state government, he said education was the key determinant of social and economic development, irrespective of one’s social background.

The government was establishing 105 Young India Integrated Residential Schools, each at an estimated cost of Rs 200 crore on 20 to 25 acres. These fully residential institutions would provide English-medium education, with students from SC, ST, BC, minority and other communities studying and living together on campuses, he said.

Unlike these residential institutions, Telangana Public Schools would be established in every Assembly constituency to expand access to quality education, he added.

Bhatti said students from pre-primary to Class 12 would be provided transport, nutritious breakfast and lunch for six days a week, textbooks, notebooks, school bags and uniforms, besides digital education and trained teachers.

Highlighting the government’s breakfast initiative, he said around 27 lakh students studying in government, Zilla Parishad, municipal and residential schools across Telangana were being provided nutritious breakfast every day.

Describing it as an initiative unparalleled in the world, he said the food was prepared in hygienic centralised kitchens and delivered to schools between 8.30 am and 9.30 am.

Recalling the contribution of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, the country’s first Education Minister, Bhatti said laying the foundation stone for the school on his birth anniversary was significant, as Azad had laid a strong foundation for the development of the education sector.

The government’s ultimate objective was to ensure that every child born in Telangana received quality education, he added.

TNT TS