Nara Lokesh calls for mental health support for AP students

Education Minister Nara Lokesh interacting with students waiting near their school in Dharmavaram on Tuesday.

Andhra Pradesh Education Minister Nara Lokesh on Wednesday directed officials to launch large-scale awareness programs to prevent mental stress among students and strengthen institutional support systems for mental health.

During a review meeting with senior officials of school education, higher education and skill development departments at his residence in Undavalli, Mr. Lokesh said that a special program on mental health awareness, counseling and institutional support should be implemented on a mission mode.

Samagra Shiksha State Project Director B. Srinivasa Rao informed the minister that the CARE AP tool has been developed to address the mental health issues of students and its pilot program has been completed.

Referring to the Heartfulness Yoga programme, Mr Lokesh directed officials to provide yoga training to around 4.47 lakh students in 935 government schools in the first phase.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao said that 2,000 aspirant teachers would be trained by Kanha Shanti Vanam in Hyderabad. The teachers would once again conduct yoga classes in hybrid mode this year, while fully physical training classes will be introduced from next year.

The minister also reviewed academic performance and directed officials to focus on improving results, setting a target of 90% results in both the Class 10 and Intermediate exams. He asked the officials to work with determination to achieve and exceed their Key Performance Indicators (KPI) targets.

Mr. Lokesh suggested implementing Facial Recognition Systems (FRS) in universities and colleges to improve attendance among students and faculty. He also appreciated the teachers and officials for the effective implementation of the Mission March program across the state.

He said subject teachers who are lagging behind in completing the curriculum should undergo mandatory capacity building programs with teacher-mentors. He also emphasized the importance of achieving 100% literacy under the Akshara Andhra scheme by the end of next year, in line with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s vision.

Industry related skill development

Appraising the skill development department, Mr. Lokesh directed officials to create 10 industry-linked ITI clusters across the state under PM SETU scheme with the participation of industrial companies in the first phase.

He asked officials to consult companies in sectors such as steel, renewable energy, aquaculture and pharmaceuticals and prepare a 90-day action plan for cluster development.

AP State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC) CEO Ganesh Kumar said that 5.43 lakh people have so far received skill training across the state, while 1.72 lakh people have secured employment through job fairs held in the last two years.

Mr. Lokesh directed officials to involve MLAs and other public representatives in organizing job fairs to expand job opportunities.

The meeting was attended by senior officials including Principal Secretary HR J Shyamala Rao, Director Higher Education Narayan Bharat Gupta, Director Intermediate Education Ranjit Basha, Director School Education Tameem Ansari and others.

Published – 23 Sep 2026 21:26 IST