Chief Minister Naidu urges teachers to bring in innovation to help today’s tech-savvy students

Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu on Friday (September 05, 2025) urged teachers to embrace technology. “Today’s generation is tech-savvy and educators cannot afford to lag behind their own students or even their children and grandchildren,” he said, adding that teachers must bring in innovation to help students gain an edge over others.

Addressing a programme organised to mark Guru Puja Utsavam (Teachers’ Day) in Vijayawada, he said AI tools and quantum computing should be brought into play to guide the tech-savvy students. “Even my grandson is faster than me in some aspects of technology, which shows the challenge ahead,” he said.

The Chief Minister said in the history of India, after mother and father, it is teachers who are respected and remembered. “In life, we may forget many people, but we can never forget the teachers who taught us,” he said, insisting that educating children is more valuable than leaving them property, as “education can take them to unimaginable heights”. He wanted every school to have a social media platform that involves alumni and parents.

Mr. Naidu said that with the Centre’s support, he was able to work for the State’s development, and for this, teachers’ cooperation is crucial as “the future lies in their hands”.

“Education is one area I will never neglect,” he said and pointed out that he signed the first order on Mega DSC and ensured it was conducted smoothly. “I introduced reforms like counselling-based teacher transfers to protect teachers’ dignity, bridge schools, Badi Ki Podam, and now Talliki Vandhanam for poor students. We are keeping the education system away from politics, naming schools and educational schemes after great personalities like S. Radhakrishnan and D. Seethamma,” he said.

Mr. Naidu said he was meant to be a teacher himself. “Our university Vice Chancellor even offered me a teaching position. But I had already decided to enter politics, and so I became an MLA instead. People said teaching profession was better than politics, but I told them I would win, and I went on to prove it,” he said.

Minister for Human Resources Development Nara Lokesh paid tributes to teachers, calling them the foundation of his personal journey from a mischievous backbencher to a Stanford graduate and now the State Education Minister.

Speaking about the “Andhra Model of Education – LEAP,” he urged teachers to strictly implement it to strengthen government schools. He praised teachers for their role in increasing enrolments in government schools, even leading to “No Admission” boards in some institutions for the first time.

Referring to the reforms ushered in by the government in last one year, he said they included one teacher per primary class, 9,600 model primary schools, semester-based textbooks, “No Bag Saturdays” with yoga/NCC/NSS and de-politicisation of education (no political leaders’ photos in schools).

As many as 175 outstanding teachers from across the State were felicitated on the occasion.

Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav, Vijayawada MP Kesineni Sivanath, Secretary, Department of Education Kona Sashidhar, Director, Board of Intermediate Education Kritika Shukla, Commissioner of School Education V. Vijay Rama Raju, Samagra Shiksha State Project Director B. Srinivasa Rao and others were present.