Best teachers to visit Singapore from Nov 27

Vijayawada: Education and IT minister Nara Lokesh directed officials to make necessary arrangements to send 78 Best Teacher Award winners to Singapore on November 27 for a week-long educational exposure visit. The teachers will study advanced teaching practices and classroom innovations in leading Singapore schools from November 27 to December 2, he said during a high-level review meeting on the education department held at his Undavalli residence on Wednesday.

Lokesh instructed the delegation to prepare a comprehensive report on how Singapore’s modern teaching technologies and classroom environments can be adopted to improve education standards in Andhra Pradesh.

The minister also directed officials to organise Student Assemblies on the Constitution Day (November 26) and to hold the Mega Parent-Teacher Meeting (PTM) across the state on December 5 in a festive manner, involving public representatives. He emphasised the need to widely promote the LEAP app, designed to help parents regularly monitor student performance.

He instructed district education officers (DEOs) and mandal education officers (MEOs) to visit schools regularly and closely monitor performance. Lokesh also stressed the need to strengthen e-office systems and prepare a 100-day action plan on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) as per LEAP-1 guidelines.

The minister called for statewide implementation of Kadapa-model Smart Kitchens and for efficient execution of PARAKH and other national benchmarking programmes. He also emphasised setting up Bhavita Autism Support Centres across the state, focusing on infrastructure and faculty development while considering the recommendations of the legislators’ committee. Lokesh further directed officials to motivate 8th-grade students to apply for NMMS scholarships and to improve awareness about eligibility.

The meeting also discussed establishing a central library in Amaravati, strengthening public libraries, and setting up digital libraries in schools. The review was attended by Principal Secretary for Education Kona Sasidhar, School Education Commissioner Vijaya Rama Raju, and Samagra Shiksha State Coordinator B. Srinivasa Rao, among other officials.