The State government has signed a pact with education and tech company Byju’s to impart quality education to students of government schools.
Commissioner of School Education S. Suresh Kumar and president (Public Policy) of Byju’s Susmit Sarkar singed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday.
The Chief Minister said this partnership would change the lives of students coming from economically poor background, as it would help them learn better. He said students of Classes 4 to 10 would benefit from the quality content provided by Byju’s and help them perform better.
Tabs for students
Students studying in Class 8 now and would write their Class 10 examinations in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus in 2025, would be given tabs, Mr. Jagan said, emphasising the need to make digital learning tools accessible to students and imparting training on teachers.
Students in government schools would have the advantage of receiving the tabs free of cost unlike their counterparts in private schools who had to pay ₹20,000 to ₹24,000 per annum towards subscription to the app. A total of 4.7 lakh students would receive the tabs in September and the government would incur an expenditure of ₹500 crore, he said.
In a subsequent review with the officials, the Chief Minister directed the officials to introduce Byju’s content in textbook format in English and Telugu mediums, and said the programme should be implemented effectively. He said each classroom should be equipped with a television set under the Nadu-Nedu programme to make visual content accessible to students.
Reiterating the need to focus on quality education, specifically for students of Classes 8, 9 and 10, he said it was essential to achieve good result.
CEO, Byju’s, Ravindran appreciated the “speed and commitment” with which the education system was being transformed to provide quality education to students. He said use of Byju’s content in government schools would yield positive results for the State.
Education Minister Botsa Satyanarayana, School Education Special Chief Secretary B. Rajasekhar, Commissioner, Intermediate Education Commissioner M.V. Seshagiri Babu, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan State Project Director Vetri Selvi, Mr. Sarkar and other senior officials were present.
