Telangana CM urges govt school teachers to lunch with students

Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday urged government school teachers to have lunch with students to ensure the quality of food served is good.

Speaking at Teachers' Day celebrations here, Reddy said he feels sad when incidents of food poisoning occur in state-run schools, despite the government increasing funds for food and other basic requirements.

Reddy, who holds the education portfolio, said he would also visit schools and have a meal with students. "If teachers take a meal along with the students, it would help maintain proper standards in food preparation.'' He asked teachers to inform the government about requirements to improve food quality and other amenities.

The CM further said his government plans to send around 200 teachers annually to foreign countries such as Singapore and South Korea to study best practices in education. "Good quality education is the reason for the development of countries like Singapore and Japan," he added.

Noting that 24 lakh students study in about 27,000 government schools in the state, compared to 34 lakh in 11,000 private schools, he said, ''Teachers in government schools generally have better qualifications than their private school counterparts.'' The government releases Rs 130 crore annually for school maintenance and has also involved women's Self Help Groups in these efforts. Highlighting improved enrolment, Reddy said, "While government schools witnessed dropouts in the past, it is heartening to note that three lakh additional students joined state-run schools this year," praising teachers for their contribution.

Reddy said a committee comprising former Rajya Sabha member K Keshav Rao, MLA Kadiam Srihari, and officials has been formed to formulate a new education policy for the state.

Citing former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's success, he said, "He was elected for his second and third terms mainly due to changes brought in education, which were successfully carried out to the poorer sections by teachers." Acknowledging his own political ambitions, Reddy said, "I have some selfishness, too. If you work well, there would be a possibility for me for a second and third term. I don't want to hide anything. I will work hard. I will work hard along with you." Pointing to the growing awareness among poor parents about education, he appealed to teachers to provide quality education to children from economically weaker sections. "Education alone can change destiny. The government does not have land to distribute. Education alone is the criterion for the poor to come up in society," he said.

In a veiled attack on the previous BRS government, Reddy asked whether Teachers' Day was ever celebrated after the formation of Telangana in 2014 and whether the then chief minister ever took part in it.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)