The Vaaradhi Foundation honors the Govt. school students

The Vaaradhi India Foundation held its annual lecture and award ceremony in Hyderabad on Saturday and felicitated the outstanding performances of government school students from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in state-level essay and debate competitions.

Founded in 2013 by former Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh Mohan Kanda, the foundation works to strengthen public education through programs in spoken English, coding and teacher training in collaboration with SCERT Andhra Pradesh and Samagra Shiksha Telangana.

Around 300 students from 54 districts participated in this year’s nationwide competitions, which aim to promote critical thinking, research and communication skills among students.

The annual lecture featured environmentalist Uday Krishna Peddireddi who spoke on the theme ‘Be the change you want to see’ and actor Sumanth who addressed the students on the theme ‘The Joy of Learning’.

In the competition results, ZPHS Rajampalem (AP) and ZPHS Rajole (Telangana) bagged the first prize in the essay writing category, while PMSHRI ZPHS Plus, APSP Quarters (AP) and ZPHS Nehuru Nagar (Telangana) bagged the first prize in the debate category.

The winning teams received cash prizes of ₹33,000 for first place, ₹30,000 for second place and ₹27,000 for third place.

The event was attended by students, teachers, education officials, judges and government representatives from both states. Organizers from Vaaradhi said the real success of the initiative lies not only in winning prizes but also in encouraging students to learn, participate and build confidence for their future.

Published – 04 Oct 2026 20:17 IST