Schools in Andhra Pradesh Likely to be Reopened by the End of August

Andhra Pradesh Minister of Education, Adimulapu Suresh, said Saturday that the state government is planning to reopen schools by the end of August 2020 and has announced the renovation of all government schools.

Talking about the government's plan to renovate government schools, he said, "The scheme is designed to renovate the entire infrastructure of government schools and bring them into line with corporate schools. Around 45.000 schools will be renovated as part of this."

The Minister said that nine issues, such as electrification, toilet construction, running water, furniture change, etc., will be considered. Micro-planning has been done by the Chief Minister, and we spend almost 3,700 crores on these schools alone, he added.

"We've completed one-third of the work that is expected to be completed and by the end of July, 2020 we'll be completing all the work of 15,715 schools still underway. Up until today, we've made a total of 510 crores that you can see online," Suresh said.

"We have developed an online application and there is an STMS portal that shows the details of all the works that are being carried out, that are in progress and that are being grounded, that are on the verge of completion. So, the entire process is very transparent and we are monitoring it," Suresh added.

He also said that AP is the only country in the whole country where such a program has been carried out on a massive scale. "I am sure that the entire project, costing nearly 12,000 crores, will be completed in 2-3 years, and all 45,000 AP schools will be completely renovated, and technology will be adopted."

Suresh said, "In view of COVID-19 pandemic, we are also shifting to online education, and once schools reopen the children will definitely feel a definite atmosphere."

He also released a toll-free number 1800 123 123 124 for addressing students' grievances.