CM is keen to give a major push to change the face of the Higher Education

Framework for the reformation of the education system is the need of the hour

CM states that knowledge, but not money, is the fundamental remedy for poverty

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Shri. N. Chandrababu Naidu today held an interactive session with the Vice-Chancellors of the State’s Universities at the Velagapudi Secretariat to discuss and lay the roadmap for improving the quality and research in the higher education. The meeting also saw participation from Directors and Professors from premier institutions such as MIT, VIT and SRM.

While unveiling his vision to transform Andhra Pradesh into a knowledge society besides turning it as a global educational hub, the Chief Minister said quality and relevance in higher education are very crucial, and expressed his hope that the brainstorming would throw up some game-changing ideas to further enhance the mission.

The Chief Minister also highlighted that education in every sense is one of the fundamental factors of development and said that sustainable development can be achieved only by providing quality education for all. 

“Knowledge but not money will cure poverty. Ultimately knowledge will decide who is rich,” the Chief Minister said.

People tend to pursue education for the economic benefits and this perception needs to change as this is not the true purpose of education. Inculcating knowledge should be the means and the end of our education system, which in turn would turn AP into a knowledge hub.

Shri. Shamsher Singh Rawat, Secretary, Social Welfare Department gave a presentation on the recently launched jnanabhumi portal which is symbolic of the convergence of social welfare and education departments.

Jnanabhumi, the scholarship web portal for the students for higher education is a seamless one which allows for paperless and cashless transfer of funds. Students need not move from one officer to another as all transactions can be done digitally.

Shri. Rawat said that the entire architecture of the portal is Aadhar based and will help in tracking every student’s education cycle from class one to PG.

He also highlighted the need to complete the on-boarding process soon, and urged all VC’s to pay attention to this. Once the on-boarding process is completed, students can start their enrollment he added.

The Chief Minister said that India is a big market with leadership and knowledge at its core and all this should be directed towards improving the quality of education.

He mentioned that his government is striving hard to attract top universities to the State and sought suggestion on what more can be done to make Andhra Pradesh an educational hub. 

The Chief Minister said that universities should compete with each other for improving their standards and stressed upon lifelong learning and an integrated education with soft skill development. Besides these, focus should also be laid to improve human values among children, the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister stressed that the lack of interaction with fieldwork among students should be rectified at the earliest and suggested that students should take up part-time jobs to understand responsibilities. He also added the need to encourage reading habit among children.

The Chief Minister said, “The face of education is changing. New programs and courses are coming. It’s our responsibility to empower our children and guide them in the right direction.”

The Chief Minister also suggested that industries that are coming up in Andhra Pradesh should tie up with a university each to pass on the practical knowledge to the students. 

Later, some of the VC’s gave a brief outline about the activities that are being carried out in their universities.

They informed that they are completely focusing on skill development and lauded the Chief Minister’s vision to make AP a knowledge Hub.

The members present in the meeting proposed that each university in AP should identify 5 industries and collaborate in developing products on ‘joint patent’ basis. “All universities have the potential and AP should be considered for establishing centers of excellence in cloud computing, machine learning, renewable energy and Artificial Intelligence.

VC’s were also told about the working of the AP student networking platform which connects departments, industry and students. The portal will engage college students in different social sectors. Different tasks and part-time jobs will be assigned to the students and will also further mark the students based on their performance.

“It’s a nice initiative of the Chief Minister to bring all VCs onto one platform and take the discussion forward,” a Professor from IIT, Tirupati, stated.

In his closing remarks, the Chief Minister said that what we teach is very important than how we teach in this 21^st century. “Our students should not be mere consumers but become the creators of knowledge,” said the Chief Minister.

Lastly, the Chief Minister has urged all VC’s and members from educational institutions to collaborate with the government in addressing the challenges in education and provide innovative solutions.  He said, “I urge you all to provide your suggestions on the syllabus, come up with innovative courses”. Our government is keen to work with best brains to make Andhra Pradesh a knowledge based society. We need your support and cooperation, he added.