Amaravati: Targeting the Andhra Pradesh government’s Samagra Shiksha - Jagananna Vidya Kanuka programmes, Eenadu, a leading Telugu daily newspaper on Sunday, January 29, 2023 carried a misleading report with the headline ‘కిట్లు కొన్నారు.. కోట్లు తిన్నారు!’ Samagra Shiksha department has strongly condemned the misinformation being spread by the newspaper and sought to clarify it.

The newspaper has made an unsuccessful attempt to tarnish the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme, one of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s flagship schemes of Navaratnalu with distorted facts, said KVS Reddy, State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha.

“The state government’s Vidya Kanuka scheme has failed completely as the students have not received the Vidya Kanuka kit even after 8 months,” the newspaper reported.

The news report is full of misleading claims and without facts. An attempt is being made to show the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme in poor light which is helping lakhs of students in the state. They did not even reach out to the Education department officials to get their version before writing this piece. We strongly condemn this misleading article, KVS Reddy added.

Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy is giving high priority to the school education system and is providing best facilities to the students of government schools on par with the corporate schools.

Under the Nadu Nedu-Mana Badi programme, school infrastructure is being taken up. Quality food is being served to the students under Goru Mudda (mid-day meals) scheme. The state government has introduced English as a medium of instruction in state-run schools. Efforts are also being made to digitise the classrooms of all the schools in the state.

The Education department distributes Jagananna Vidya Kanuka kits before the start of an academic year. The Vidya Kanuka kit includes three pairs of uniforms, an Oxford English to Telugu dictionary, one pair of shoes, two pairs of socks, bilingual textbooks, notebooks, a belt, and a school bag.

Under Jagananna Vidya Kanuka scheme, the state government has spent Rs 2,324 crore in three years. The tenders have also been called for the distribution of next academic year Vidya Kanuka kits.

Academic Year Beneficiaries Amount Spent (In crores)
2020-21 42,34,322 648.10
2021-22 45,71,051 789.21
2022-23 45,14,687 886.69
2023-24 43,10,165 (Proposed) 1042.53

The Andhra Pradesh government has also entered into an agreement with the Quality Council of India for the quality testing of items procured under the Jagananna Vidya Kanuka. The newspaper should follow the ethics of journalism and desist from making baseless allegations against the state government initiatives.

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