AP Govt's Nadu Nedu Spurs Demand For Admissions In Govt Schools, No Seats Available

‘Request to parents .. There are no seats in our school. Please do not make recommendations. We are common people. Kindly co-operate’—This is a board set up at the main entrance of a public school in Andhra Pradesh. 

Currently, a similar situation exists in several government schools across Andhra Pradesh. There are many such examples of admissions in public schools. If one were to consider the plight of government schools now, the situation is completely different from what it was two years ago. Ever since Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power, the highest priority has been given to the education sector, which has yielded remarkable results in just two years. What was once a neglected sector is now making waves and grabbing headlines, thanks to revolutionary progress made by the YSRCP ruled state government. 

At one point, studies were burdensome for students who travelled miles to reach schools. Now, kids are looking forward to going to school. 

During Chandrababu Naidu's tenure as Chief Minister, the government in the state had weakened public schools by promoting private and corporate educational institutions. Public schools were even shut down in several districts across the state. With no basic amenities, lack of proper facilities or teaching staff in schools, parents had stopped sending their children to schools. While those who could afford to send their children to private schools did, a  majority of children who were studying in government schools had to drop out for lack of financial assistance. This is clear from the statistics from 2014 to date. Between 2018–19, public schools accounted for 72.11 per cent with 52.83 per cent students. Private schools accounted for 23.59 per cent and students 43.79 per cent. For the academic year 2020–21, the situation has reversed. Of the 72.28 per cent government-run schools, 59.46 per cent had students, while the enrollment in private schools fell from 23.73 per cent to 37.77 per cent.

In the 2014–15 academic year, when Telugudesam came to power in the state, there were 72,32,771 students, but the following year the number dropped to 69,07,004. That means 3,25,767 students dropped out altogether and became dropouts. Thereafter, the gradual increase started from 2018–19 and by 2020–21 the enrolment of students in the state increased to 73,05,533. That's 2,62,462 more than in 2018–19. Under Chandrababu Naidu, the enrolment of students across the state declined and the situation in public schools became even more deplorable. The then government weakened public schools and forced millions of children to migrate from public schools to private institutions. While there were 41,83,441 students in government-owned schools in 2014–15, the number dropped to 37,20,988 by 2018–19. In all, more than 4.5 lakh students dropped out of government schools. A vast majority of them are enrolled in private schools, while those who dropped out stayed away from the school.

Situation changed after the YSR Congress government came to power. The numbers increased to 43,43,844 by 2020–21. Many govt schemes like Jagananna Vidya Kanuka and Jagannanna Gorumudda have contributed to the enrolment across government schools. While enrolment in private schools will drop to 14.10 per cent in 2020–21, an additional 6,22,856 will be enrolled in public schools in the two years combined.
With 60 per cent of those enrolled in government schools enrolling in schools developed under the day-to-day program, the impact of education development schemes being undertaken by the government is clear. Parents are rushing to enroll their children in public schools in the wake of the government undertaking various educational development programs in the last two years. They are queuing up seeking admission in public schools at a time when the coronavirus has put an additional financial burden on parents and private school education becoming more expensive.
It is a known fact that the Andhra Pradesh government is providing 10 types of facilities in all government schools in the state with Rs 16,000 crore under the Mana Badi Nadu-Nedu program. 

Work in 15,715 schools has been completed with the first tranche of Rs 3,669 crore. Enrollment in these schools has increased exponentially. With more people seeking admissions in govt schools this year, there is a shortage of seats. On the other hand, it is known that the government is introducing English medium in all schools, providing 3 pairs of uniforms, text books, note books, workbooks, shoes, socks, belt, bag along with English-Telugu dictionary under Jagananna Vidyakanuka. Under the YSR Gorumudda programme, the AP government is also serving nutritious meals to students to tackle mal nourishment among kids.