The School Education Department has set the ball rolling for restructuring of the existing 53 educational divisions into 74 on a par with the 74 revenue divisions, to strengthen the supervisory mechanism of the department and ensure one Deputy Educational Officer post in each division.
A G.O. released to this effect and signed by the Principal Secretary, Praveen Prakash, said restructuring of the educational divisions is necessitated for ease of administration and effective monitoring of schemes and schools in the newly-formed districts.
Referring to the flagship programmes introduced as part of reforms in the education sector like Mana Badi-Nadu Nedu, Jagananna Vidya Kanuka, Jagananna Vidya Deevena, Amma Vodi, Gorumudda, Byju’s app, installation of Interactive Flat Panels and smart TVs in classrooms, it said the initiatives were aimed at achieving optimum academic results.
The existing set-up was established during the 1960s when approximately 15,000 schools and around 121 educational divisions existed, with an average of 121 schools under the control of each Deputy Education Officer.
In the post-bifurcation scenario, around 60,000 schools in the purview of 53 educational divisions functioned in the State. Approximately, 1,132 schools were under the purview of each Deputy Education Officer, resulting in increase in workload by 10 times on them. For effective administration and better supervision, 74 educational divisions are being formed.
Teachers react
Following the announcement, members of the Federation of Andhra Pradesh Teachers’ Organisations (FAPTO) have demanded that the re-appropriation of the Deputy Education Officer posts in the 74 revenue divisions should be done based on the ‘combined seniority’ of the teachers working in the government and panchayat raj schools.
In a statement on Friday, the federation’s State chairman N. Venkateswarlu and secretary general Ch. Manjula urged the department authorities to effect promotions to the Deputy Education Officers’ posts based on G.O.s 73 and 74 released in 2017.
They said when the issue was taken to the notice of the Education Minister Botcha Satyanarayana, he had assured them that any decision on this front would be taken only after discussing it with FAPTO representatives.
The federation leaders said they would be forced to resist the decision if the Minister went back on his word.
TOEFL
Meanwhile, the School Education Department signed an agreement with the Educational Testing Services (ETS) for examination and certification of the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to assess English language skills of students from Class III to X in all government schools in the State.
A G.O. issued in this regard said a total of 30,01,757 students in the State will benefit from the initiative. Of them, 12,45,191 are primary students and 17,56,566 are from secondary classes.
The State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) will implement the new initiative and impart training to students using audio-video digital methodologies.
