The Andhra Pradesh education department on Monday renamed half a dozen welfare schemes for students in the state. The department replaced the names of these schemes, previously named after former Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, with the names of eminent personalities in the field of education.
The state's ruling Telugu Desam Party (TDP) government has replaced these names with those of notable personalities, such as Dr APJ Abdul Kalam and Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan.
Andhra Pradesh's IT, Electronics, and Human Resource Development Minister Nara Lokesh alleged that the YS Jagan Mohan Reddy-led Yuvajana Shramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) had destroyed the education sector in the state.
Nara Lokesh promised to ‘sanitise it’ under Chandrababu Naidu-led government, reported PTI.
The IT minister further stated that the Chandrababu Naidu government aims to free educational institutes from politics. He added that the new names align with the state's vision of making schools centres of learning.
“Ridding educational institutions from politics and making them centres of learning is our resolve,” said Nara Lokesh in a post on the social media platform ‘X’, and added that the government was renaming the schemes of the previous rule of YSRCP.
According to the new nomenclature, 'Jagananna Amma Vodi', a scheme offering financial help to mothers to educate their children, has been renamed 'Talliki Vandanam'.
'Jagananna Vidya Kanuka', a scheme for providing education kits consisting of school bags, books, and other materials, has been renamed ‘Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Vidya Mitra’.
The mid-day meal scheme for public school students, which was earlier called 'Jagananna Gorumudda,' will now be called the 'Dokka Seethamma Madhyahana Badi Bojanam'.
'Mana Badi Nadu Nedu', a school renovation scheme, has been renamed 'Mana Badi Mana Bhavishyaktu'.
'Sweccha', a free sanitary napkin distribution programme for female students, has been renamed 'Balika Raksha'.
'Jagananna Animutyalu', a scheme to financially reward government school students who topped examinations, has been renamed 'Abdul Kalam Prathiba Puraskaram'.
