A great visionary Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy (2004-2009) would be remembered for the educational reforms he heralded in the State. Perhaps his vision of introducing private universities in Andhra Pradesh besides taking the secondary education onto a revolutionary path would have certainly been realised but for the tragic end that struck the State on September 2, snuffing out the valuable life of Dr Reddy.

The changes brought into the Engineering, Agriculture Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET), the gateway to the professional courses like medicine and engineering, have been welcomed by all sections in the academic quarters. In fact, famous educationists in the State have termed them as a revolutionary reform.

The Rajasekhara Reddy government decided to introduce a weightage of 25% marks in the Intermediate Public Examination (IPE) for EAMCET ranking from the 2009 academic year. This, many hoped, would considerably improve the standard of the Intermediate education and pep up the academic knowledge of the aspirants of professional courses.

In a bid to add value and bring in reforms into higher education, the YSR government set up 18 new universities in the last five years. Even  the National Knowledge Commission mooted a similar drive for the expansion of higher education in the country. Establishing universities in the rural and backward districts was considered a dilution of the objective of higher education in the State. However, of late, scholars and academicians have realised Dr Reddy’s futuristic vision and have appreciated the move as realistic.

The setting up of BITS (Pilani) near Hyderabad was considered an achievement, thanks to Dr Reddy’s proximity and association with the Birlas. The Indian Institute of Technolgy established in Medak (also close to Hyderabad) has become operational and has achieved vibrancy as one of the leading academies catering to the needs of the students of the region.

The State has also focused on creating several institutes of high quality such as the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) besides strengthening the Indian School of Business (ISB), which have been gaining international recognition for the quality of their programmes. The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) at Hyderabad has earned a big reputation among those seeking a career in fashion and lifestyle.

Among the other outstanding activities the YSR government took up include the upgradation of the Regional Engineering College (REC) into the National Institute of Technology (NIT) at Warangal.

Universities were also proposed to be set up in Karimnagar, Kurnool, Palamur University in Mahbubnagar, Srikakulam, Machhilipatnam and Potti Sriramulu University in Nellore. In 2006, the government set up three universities in three regions of the State. They are Telangana University at Nizamabad, Nannayya University at Rajahmundry and Yogi Vemana University at Kadapa.

In view of the growing emphasis laid on communicative English in the Corporate sector after the nation rode on the Information Technology boom, the state government set up 20 government sponsored co-education, English medium and residential institutes under public-private partnership. The scheme, meant for classes VI to XII, attempted to adopt the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) syllabus in the state schools.

Due to stiff resistance from certain quarters, the Rajasekhara Reddy government decided to change the nomenclature of such institutions to public schools. Depending on its success rate, it was decided to set up one public school in every Assembly segment later.

Referring to the growth of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Dr Reddy felt that learning English with American and European accents had become a necessity. While simultaneously developing the mother tongue and culture, English should be given due importance, he felt and underscored the teachers’ role in improving the literacy rate in the State.

Reimbursement of fees to the students belonging to economically backward classes for pursuing education in professional colleges such as engineering, medical and MBA/MCA colleges in the State was considered a great welfare drive by Dr Reddy. Originally the reimbursement of fee was restricted to Scheduled Castes, Tribes and Backward and Minority classes till last year. The scheme has benefitted nearly 33 lakh students in the state.

Dr Reddy’s decisions such as the establishment of IIITs (Indian Institutes of Information Technology), providing global class education to meritorious students and those belonging to the rural areas and the move to set up varsities in all the districts in the state with a view to expanding the horizons of higher education in the last five years were of far-reaching consequences.

In 2008, a six-year engineering degree course was launched for rural students at Idupulapaya, Basara and Nuzvid IIITs to provide the best possible education to the neglected rural students after Class X. Dr Reddy donated land at Idupulapaya for the unique concept comprising 2000 students at each of the centres. Congress president Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the institution and incidentally Dr Reddy was also laid to rest close to the compound.

While the State was on the verge of reforming the examination system on the lines of the CBSE pattern to award grades, the tragic end had struck the State in the form of a copter crash and the visionary’s life has been lost. Otherwise, the State would have certainly marched on the path of progress in education sector and the reforms in secondary education would have been a reality, which is an irreparable loss to the State.