Education Minister A. Suresh said Friday that the funds being spent on education are aimed at ensuring a bright future for students. “Every penny spent today is an investment in the future,” he said.
After the virtual opening of an online training course for elementary school teachers organized by the Samagra Shiksha wing of the school education department, the minister said that only a good teacher can contribute to quality education.
He said teachers should discourage students from resorting to the red educational model and instead encourage them to think outside the box.
Mr Suresh said the State Council for Education Research and Training (SCERT) had put together a very high standard curriculum after carefully examining various educational models. Although an expensive proposition, bilingual books were printed to make it easier for teachers and students to easily migrate from Telugu to the English medium, and also because they were key components of the 2020 National Education Policy. Workbooks were also made available to the students, he added.
CBSE curriculum
The minister said that as part of the proposal to gradually roll out the CBSE Grade VII curriculum, there were plans for Grade 10 students in Grades 2024-25 to take the CBSE exams.
He said state school teachers hired by the District Selection Committee (DSC) have a solid knowledge base. All they needed was an English medium training which was now being done.
The minister urged teachers to take advantage of the 50-hour training program, which includes 24 live programs in which professionals from SCERT and Anna University would train them.
Preschools
To catch young children, YSR preschools have been set up for children between the ages of three and six. The preschool teachers were also trained in dealing with children and taught in rhymes and other activities.
The minister said that given the intensity of the surge in viruses, all schools would have to be closed. Grade 10 exams would be held whenever the situation permitted, he added.