Page 16 - EW February 2026

Education News

neglected to define discrimination to Lokesh, the event which
and provide guardrails to prevent convened simultaneously
misuse of the sweeping provisions of in 13 cities and towns state-
the regulations. They seem unaware wide, was the largest PTM in
that student-to-student discrimina- Indian history.
tion — harassment in hostels, class- Subsequently in Octo-
rooms, canteens, and other public ber, the TDP government
spaces — is already covered by the launched an ambitious
Anti-Ragging Regulations 2016. In- LEAP (Learning Excellence
stitutional discrimination, however, in Andhra Pradesh) pro-
is subtle, indirect, and occurs in pri- gramme to revolutionise
vate interactions, assignments, and K-12 education statewide
evaluations, and needs greater clarity through technology, inno-
which the new regulations should Naidu (left) & Lokesh: implementation reticence vation, and inclusion. Un-
have provided. Prevention, not pun- der the LEAP framework,
ishment, should be the objective, and rivalling Bangalore, Naidu suffered a the state government is overhauling
awareness of details of institutional setback when Andhra was divided into and re-building AP’s school education
discrimination is missing,” says the two states of Telangana (pop. 35.2 system on five pillars — curriculum re-
Prof. (Dr.) Raj Kachroo, founder million) and Andhra Pradesh (pop. form, teacher training, infrastructure
of Aman Trust, an anti-ragging NGO, 49.4 million) in 2014, with Hyderabad improvement, digital learning, and as-
and member of the National Task- awarded to the former. Moreover in sessment. According to Lokesh, LEAP
force on Mental Health. the first new Andhra Pradesh election, is closely aligned with the National
Clearly, UGC’s new equity regula- Naidu — a three-time chief minister Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and in-
tions holding HEIs accountable for of undivided Andhra Pradesh — was troduces AI-driven evaluation tools,
discrimination against historically ousted from office. Now he seems in- play-based learning in early years, and
oppressed castes are warranted. But tent on carrying on from where he left digital content modules designed to
UGC babus should have accorded off and transforming Andhra Pradesh nurture children’s creativity, commu-
due care and diligence to draft- into a national leader state in educa- nication, and problem-solving skills.
ing the regulations which are now tion, technology, and human capital ow the latest TDP initiative is es-
obliged to suffer the law’s delay. Yet development. In this endeavour, he Ntablishment of AP FIRST (Andhra
at bottom, the greater tragedy is that is enabled by his son, the go-getting Pradesh Futuristic Innovation and
caste discrimination and prejudice Nara Lokesh, an alum of America’s Research in Science & Technology),
is pervasive in the country’s highest blue-chip Stanford and Carnegie Mel- a high-impact science and technology
institutions of learning, where the lon universities, who is serving as edu- ecosystem to be developed in Tirupati
rule of reason and knowledge should cation minister. in collaboration with IIT-Tirupati
be paramount. Tea leaves predicting Simultaneously with launching of and the Delhi-based Indian Institute
the future don’t read well. a massive Rs.50,000 crore project to of Science, Education & Research
Autar Nehru (Delhi) construct a new administrative capital (IISER). The objective is to promote
for Andhra Pradesh — a monumental research in the emerging fields of arti-
TELANGANA endeavour in which the father-son duo ficial intelligence, aerospace engineer-
Rising scepticism has the advantage of TDP being allied ing, cybersecurity, semiconductors,
with the BJP/NDA government at the
biotechnology, green energy, and ad-
Centre and hence the latter’s finan- vanced manufacturing. In contrast to
he telugu desam party (tdp) gov- cial support — the state government traditional research parks, AP FIRST
ernment led by veteran chief launched two ambitious projects in will be built around an ecosystem
Tminister Chandrababu Nai- the education space. Last July, Lokesh model — academic research, startup
du, which returned to power with a de- synchronised a mega Parent-Teacher incubation, applied innovation, and
cisive mandate last year, seems deter- Meeting (PTM) 2.0 in which 22 mil- skills development — all combined
mined to reposition Andhra Pradesh lion parents, students, teachers and into a single structure.
not merely as an administratively ef- public representatives participated to “AP FIRST is not designed as an
ficient state, but as a national leader in discuss and debate ways and means individual programme, but a platform
science, technology, and innovation. to strengthen parent-school partner- that will bridge the divide between
Widely credited for developing ships; transparency and accountabil- higher education and employability.
Hyderabad into an ICT (information ity; and promote life skills through The aim of the state government is
communication technologies) hub co-curricular education. According to make sure that Andhra students

16 EDUCATIONWORLD FEBRUARY 2026