Chose education portfolio to bring social change, says HRD Minister Nara Lokesh

Andhra Pradesh Education Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, said that he consciously chose the Education portfolio, one of the most challenging departments in the government, as he believes that education is the most effective tool to bring positive change to society.

Addressing teachers and students after inaugurating newly constructed buildings at the Zilla Parishad High School in Kokkiligadda village of Mopidevi mandal, he said changing the education system is a challenge he has willingly accepted and that success can only be achieved through the collective efforts of teachers, parents and officials.

Mr. Lokesh inaugurated the newly constructed school buildings constructed at a cost of ₹1.4 crore with donor support under the P4 programme. Interacting with teachers, he said that the government has completed major reforms in the education sector in the last two years and now the focus should shift to improving learning outcomes and academic performance. He noted that while the government is strengthening school facilities across the state, the responsibility of improving student achievement now lies with teachers.

The minister said significant improvements have been made to school facilities and buildings. “The hardware has improved; now we need to improve the software, which means learning outcomes,” he said, and noted that all essential facilities except a library and computer laboratory had already been provided to the Kokkiligadda High School. He urged teachers to closely monitor formative and summative assessment results, identify students who are falling behind in certain subjects and provide them with targeted support. He said the government would provide bridge course material to help such students improve and urged teachers to work towards achieving 100% pass results.

The Minister said that for the first time, the government published newspaper advertisements featuring successful students in public schools, thus making them known to the public. He also informed that any issue regarding school management or teaching can be directly conveyed to him through the LEAP App without the need to approach the Mandal or District Education Officers.

Mr. Lokesh announced that statewide parent-teacher meetings are planned for July 16, 17 and 18 and urged teachers to motivate parents to download and use the LEAP App. He emphasized that the vision of creating the “AP Education Model” can only be realized through teamwork.

Teachers reported to the Minister that initiatives such as the 100-Day Action Plan and the Basic Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) program were producing encouraging results. Mr. Lokesh said the long-term goal should be to ensure that students are academically strong enough not to need such interventions. He also highlighted the social difficulties faced by girls who failed their Grade 10 exams and called on teachers to pay special attention to their progress.