“We are not living in a perfect world. There is no perfection by and large. But, we have been trying to be very close to perfection,” said a senior official B Rajasekhar, who is principal secretary in the education department.

The senior Bureaucrat addressed the media on Monday replying to the campaign against the New Education Policy being implemented by the government. He said the state government had decided to implement the New Education Policy and had decided to merge classes in the new system.

The state government had moved from the present system of Primary Schools, Upper Primary Schools, High Schools and Junior Colleges, besides the Anganwadi Centres. In the new education policy, Satellite Foundation Schools, Foundation Schools, Pre-High Schools, High Schools and High School Plus.

The satellite foundation schools would have Anganwadi and Class I and II, while Foundation schools will have Anganwadi and Class I to II, Foundation Plus schools will have Anganwadi and Class I to IV, Pre-high schools will have Anganwadi to Class VIII, high schools will have Class III to Class X and high school plus will have Class III to Class XII. The Class XII is the junior intermediate.

Rajasekhar said that the exercise was done in due consultation with the teachers’ unions and the elected representatives. The students’ interests were given highest priority and advised the media not to mislead people on the new system of education.

The New Education System was introduced by the Central government which gives a strong foundation for the students right from the pre-primary level. “We are not merging schools or closing schools. We are merging classes as per the new education system,” the senior bureaucrat asserted.