YSRCP begins campaign on English medium ahead of local body elections

The State government, which is keen to introduce English medium education in all government schools from the 2020-21 academic year, has launched a campaign to get mileage on the issue ahead of local body elections.

Though the Bill in this regard is yet to be passed in the AP Legislative Council, YSRCP leaders are hopeful that all hurdles would be cleared in a couple of months with the abolition of the Council itself.

In this backdrop, the party has been holding a series of meetings across the State by sending delegations comprising senior retired bureaucrat P.V. Ramesh, actor R. Narayana Murthy, former MLC Jupudi Prabhakara Rao and others to explain the benefits of English medium education for the children of Dalit and backward class families.

The teams have already toured Kurnool, Chittoor, Tirupati, Nellore, Ongole, Rajamahendravaram, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram and other towns and have held seminars and interactions with intellectuals and teachers’ associations. R. Narayana Murthy, protagonist in many revolutionary movies and now a film producer, said that the denial of proper education for many years has been the main reason for the continuous backwardness of many sections of society.

“Fortunately, education is now available for free for all downtrodden sections. While it will help them get a livelihood, a significant change in their lives is possible only with English medium education. A remarkable change can be achieved in generations to come. That is why I am touring several places in support of the move to introduce mandatory English medium education in all government schools,” Mr. Narayana Murthy said.

‘Equal footing’

Former MLC Jupudi Prabhakara Rao said that Dr. B.R. Ambedkar and Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, who made invaluable contributions to the uplift of Dalits, had strongly advocated education for children in English as it would offer them an equal footing with other sections of society and prevent discrimination and exploitation of human resources.

“Many TDP leaders are shedding crocodile tears over the possible neglect of the Telugu language. Nothing would happen to the mother tongue as Telugu will continue to be a mandatory subject as promised by Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy,” Mr. Prabhakara Rao said.

“Amma Vodi scheme, which ensures ₹15,000 for mothers of schoolchildren, has already caught the attention of everyone. Now, English medium education is being widely accepted. The government is fulfilling all its election promises. Such schemes will also help us politically in the long run and dent the votebank of the Telugu Desam in the local body elections,” said Mr. Prabhakara Rao, who was the former chairman of SC Corporation.

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