Kalalaku Rekkalu, the girl student education scheme from next academic year, says Lokesh

HRD Minister Nara Lokesh on Friday instructed officials to frame guidelines for implementing Kalalaku Rekkalu (Wings to Dreams), a scheme to support girl students pursuing higher education, from the next academic year.

At a review meeting with senior officials of the Education and Skill Development Departments, the Minister said the scheme would extend financial assistance to girl students wishing to pursue higher education in India or abroad. Officials informed him that 27,112 girl students from Andhra Pradesh were currently studying overseas, while 88,196 were pursuing higher education within the country. The meeting also discussed modalities for implementing the foreign education scheme.

Expressing serious concern over suicides in government and private educational institutions across the State, Mr. Lokesh asked officials to propose preventive measures. He announced the formation of a five-member committee headed by Sri Padmavati Mahila University Vice-Chancellor Uma to address the issue. He also directed officials to strictly follow Supreme Court guidelines, upgrade facilities in private residential colleges, and initiate measures to reduce academic pressure on students. He warned that strict action would be taken against private colleges operating without approvals.

The Minister also reviewed proposals for permitting foreign and private universities to operate in the State. Officials said consultations were under way with Western Sydney University, James Cook University, the University of Newcastle, and the University of New South Wales for collaborations with State universities. Mr. Lokesh further asked officials to prioritise international degree programmes.

He said the government planned to develop an EduCity in Visakhapatnam, establish a world-class aviation university, set up an international-level flying school on the lines of the American Rider model, and create facilities for MRO, pilot ground handling, and customer services.

Fee reimbursement

In a separate meeting with leaders of student and youth associations, Mr. Lokesh assured them that steps were being taken to clear all pending fee reimbursement dues. He cautioned private college managements against exerting pressure on students over fee payment. He said the TDP-led coalition government had inherited fee reimbursement arrears amounting to ₹4,200 crore, which would be cleared in phases depending on financial availability.

The Minister said student unions would be provided a dedicated platform to raise non-political issues after institutional working hours. He also assured support for anti-ragging and anti-drug campaigns taken up by student associations. A simplified system would be introduced for issuing student bus passes by linking them to AAPAR ID. He reiterated that political speeches would not be permitted in colleges and universities under any circumstances.