: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Monday lashed out at Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu,TDP president Chandrababu Naidu and actor Pawan Kalyan for opposing his governments move to introduce English medium in mandal and zilla parishad schools from next year.
"Those who are opposing English medium..where have their kids studied? Where are their grandchildren studying? Why should children from poor families be deprived of English education, when it can create a level-playing field and equip them with better skills," the Chief Minister asked.
Jagan was speaking at a function on the occasion of 132nd Maulana Abul Kalam Azads birth anniversary, where the A P J Abdul Kalam Vidya Puraskar were presented to meritorious students who excelled in Class X and Intermediate.
The state government recently decided to introduce English medium from Classes 1 to 6 in all mandal and zilla parishad schools from the 2020-21 academic year. That will be upgraded further up to Class X in the subsequent four years.
This evoked sharp reactions from various quarters.
Defending his governments decision, the Chief Minister asserted that English was essential in this competitive world and to get better jobs.
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"English education is essential for the states development and eradication of poverty. While English will be the medium of instruction, Telugu or Urdu will be a compulsory subject, he added.
"No less than a person like Venkaiah Naidu garu has opposed English medium education in government schools. I ask him where did he send his children and grandchildren for schooling? Were they not put in English medium schools,?" the Chief Minister asked.
"Where did Chandrababu Naidus son have his schooling? I think Chandrababus grandson is also now joining school. In which medium is he being put in? Jagan questioned.
Lashing out at actor-turned-politician Pawan Kalyan, Jagan remarked: There is an actor Pawan Kalyan. He too is questioning us. He has three wives and four or five children. In which schools are his children studying?
All these people should first introspect, he added.
The Chief Minister announced that a new programme "Naadu-Nedu" would be launched on November 14 to give a complete facelift to government schools.
In the first phase, infrastructure in 15,000 schools would be improved at a cost of Rs 1500 crore. The four-year programme would cost Rs 6,000 crore and is aimed at completely transforming the school infrastructure in Andhra Pradesh.
Deputy Chief Minister Amzath Pasha, ministers A Suresh, V Srinivas and others attended the event.
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