The Andhra Pradesh government will not be procuring any more tablets from ed-tech company Byju’s for government schools in the state. AP Education Secretary Kona Sasidhar told TNM that the Telugu Desam Party (TDP)-led state government will redesign the system.
“The previous government has provided preloaded Byju’s content in the tablets given to students and installed Interactive Flat Panels (IFPs) in the classrooms in government schools. At present, the government is re-examining the entire education model, and there is no plan to further procure tablets with Byju’s content. We are redesigning the pedagogy, which will include computer labs with Personalised Adaptive Learning (PAL) methodology in schools,” he said.
However, the Secretary also clarified that as of the moment the Andhra Pradesh government has no plans to replace Byju’s with any other ed-tech company.
Former Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy has inked an agreement with Byju’s in July 2022 under which students from Class 8 to Class 10 were given tablets to enhance digital learning. The aim, the Chief Minister had said, was to ensure that government school training is equal to CBSE training by 2025, and that students are fully prepared for the 2025 CBSE board exams.
YSRCP’s contract with Byju’s was painted by the then state government as revolutionising the education system. So much so that in September 2023, YSRCP leader Audimulapu Suresh said that the Byju’s tablets and Google Search were more resourceful than teachers.
The Secretary also told TNM that any irregularities concerning Byju’s were being examined and “appropriate action would be taken soon.”
Over the past few years, Byju’s has found itself mired in several legal tussles. Currently, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) is hearing insolvency proceedings against Byju’s after Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) alleged that the company had defaulted on Rs 158 crore.
The current regime’s education ministry, under Andhra Pradesh Human Resources Minister Nara Lokesh, has been very critical of YSRCP’s approach to education. Apart from stopping Byju’s content, the government is also probing the YSRCP’s Nadu Nedu scheme, which intended to improve learning outcomes, decrease dropout rate in schools and upgrade school infrastructure.