Govt to set up regional library in Jagadamba, Visakhapatnam

On 23 August 2024, Andhra Pradesh Minister for Education, IT and Electronics, Nara Lokesh made several announcements regarding developments in education in the State. He revealed that there are proposals to set up a regional library covering 50,000 square feet in Jagadamba in Visakhapatnam. He ordered officials to speed up efforts on this front. Additionally, he said that the Andhra Pradesh Government is working on establishing India’s largest Central Library in Amaravati.

He also said that the country’s largest Central Library in Amaravati will cover two-lakh square feet and will be designed designed to serve as a modern “hub of knowledge.”

The announcements were made at a state-level review meeting with senior education officials at his Undavalli residence. “We will build the finest central library in the country and complete it within a year. It will set new benchmarks in access to knowledge,” Lokesh declared. He further directed officials to recover Rs 213 crore in cess dues pending from local bodies and channel the funds into library development. To increase student participation, he called for community programmes across libraries and urged full utilisation of funds from the National Mission for Libraries. He also highlighted that Rs 87 lakh has already been sanctioned for the Rajahmundry library.

Apart from setting up a regional library in Visakhapatnam and a central library in Amaravati, other educational priorities include setting up 125 new autism centres across the state by year-end, reflecting the government’s push for inclusive education.

Addressing learning outcomes, Lokesh stressed the urgent need to improve foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) in Andhra Pradesh. He cited the 2024 ASER Report, which revealed that only 37.5% of Grade 5 students in the State could read Grade 2-level Telugu, compared to 57.1% in 2018. “Andhra Pradesh ranks 14th nationally in FLN implementation. This has to improve. Every child must be guaranteed foundational literacy and numeracy as a right, regardless of location. With the cooperation of teachers, we will make this a reality,” he said

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