Nara Lokesh: No Unilateral Decisions In Coalition Government

Education and IT Minister Nara Lokesh has made it clear that in the coalition government, no single-handed decisions will be taken. Instead, through discussions and consultations, all the policy decisions will be taken. He assured that any mistakes in the implementation of reforms would be rectified.

During a meeting at his Undavalli residence, representatives from the Engineering Colleges Management Association discussed the challenges faced by engineering colleges in the state. Several key leaders, including MLCs Kancharla Srikanth, Bhumireddy Ramgopal Reddy, Parchuri Ashok Babu, and Vepada Chiranjeevi, participated in the discussions.

Improving Engineering Education in Andhra Pradesh

Lokesh requested college managements to enhance the quality of engineering education in the state. According to him, it has been many years that successive administrations neglected education and allowed its degradation. The process, according to Lokesh, would be reformed right from the primary level of education.

He observed that the introduction of some profound changes has been made in intermediate education, which has not seen a single change since the last ten years. He emphasized that GER (Gross Enrollment Ratio) in educational institutions must be enhanced. He further said that he wants the education system to be reformed with a moral value. Since the primary aim is to enhance it.

RTF Scholarships: Financial Support News

Minister Lokesh updated the Reimbursement of Tuition Fee (RTF) scholarships and announced that a total of ₹788 crores were approved in the first phase of which ₹571.96 crores have been already disbursed. The rest balance of ₹216.04 crores will be released in the next two to three days.

Placement Data & Future Educational Reforms

Engineering colleges will have to be updated regularly with placement details online so that the government can get student employment trends.
He also said that after the code of elections for the MLC elections, a one-day workshop will be conducted. As per his idea, opinions from all stakeholders will be gathered to identify ways to take engineering education in the state forward.

Requests from the Engineering Colleges Association

Representatives from the Engineering Colleges Management Association asked for the fee reimbursement funds to be released on a fixed schedule during the meeting. They also appealed for a revision of the existing fee structure to support educational institutions and students.