Academic standards in the State have been hit very badly for the past five years with the policies adopted by the State Government, TDP general secretary, Nara Lokesh, said here on Tuesday and felt that the GO 117 issued for the merger of the schools is keeping education away from the students. He promised to rescind this GO once the TDP-Jana Sena combine comes to power in the coming elections.
While the drop-out rate in schools is 12.6 per cent in other parts of the country, in the State the percentage is 16.3, which is highest in the South, Mr Lokesh said while addressing a meeting held at Madugula in the combined Visakhapatnam district as part of the ongoing ‘Sankharavam’. At least 1.93 lakh students dropped out of schools in the 2022-23 academic year and all this because of the faulty policies being adopted by Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, he said.
The works started in the 32,000 schools in different parts of the State during the TDP regime have not moved forward in the past five years, Lokesh said. “The buildings constructed by us are being painted again and Jagan is claiming that he has constructed these buildings,” he stated.
During Chandrababu Naidu’s regime several industries were set up in Visakhapatnam providing employment to the youth but now this port city has turned in a centre for ganja supply resulting in murders, kidnaps and land grabbings being reported almost on daily basis, a seriously concern Mr Lokesh said. As the chief minister of the State Chandrababu used to visit Visakhapatnam almost twice every month, but this Chief Minister is not finding time to come here despite building a palace with Rs 500 cr in Rishi Konda, he said.
Lokesh dared Jagan to compete with Chandrababu, Naidu whom he is calling as an old man. “Chandrababu Naidu, who is almost the same age as his father, is being called an old man by Jagan. But I am challenging Jagan to compete with Chandrababu Naidu either to break a coconut or scale the Seven Hills of Tirupati,” Lokesh said.
Recalling how he was subjected to great trouble during his Yuva Galam pada yatra, Lokesh pointed out that GO 1 was brought in imposing certain restrictions while his mike was snatched away from him when he was addressing a meeting. Now cases are being registered against the red book, he said and felt that Jagan is scared of him and thus he is resorting to this kind of action.
Reaffirming that all the schemes mentioned in the Super-Six will be implemented in toto, Lokesh told the gathering that 20 lakh jobs will be provided in five years and three cooking gas cylinders will be supplied to every door at free of cost besides implementing other schemes like unemployment allowance, financial aid for women et al. Regretting that Jagan is simply playing a game with the lives of the people of the State in the name of three capitals, Lokesh said not even a single industry has been set up in any part of the State in these five years. How can unemployment problems be resolved if there are no industries or companies, he asked.
Mentioning that efforts are now on to privatise the Visakha Steel Plant, Lokesh assured the people of North Andhra that he will take the responsibility to see to it that the steel plant is not privatised. Mining has become a money spinning business for the YSRCP leaders, he said, adding that if the candidates supported by the TDP-Jana Sena are elected the coming alliance government will show what development is.
“I am promising you all that the Srujala Sravathi, started during the TDP regime, will be completed and all the pending projects will be completed besides providing basic amenities like roads, drainage and safe drinking water,” Lokesh said and called upon the TDP and the Jana Sena activists to take the Super-Six to every doorstep.
