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Time of India
2 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
AP govt expands ‘Shining Star' awards to district & mandal levels
Vijayawada: After felicitating the state level rankers in both SSC and Intermediate, HRD minister Nara Lokesh has directed the education department to take up similar programmes at district and mandal level to encourage the meritorious students. He asked the officials to felicitate top rankers in SSC and intermediate examinations with shining star awards. Education secretary Kona Sasidhar asked the officials to ready the awardees lists based on the merit. He asked them to consider those students who secured 500 marks and above out of 600 marks in SSC for selection in a particular mandal. While two students from OC will be picked up, one each from SC, ST, BC and minority sections will be selected for awards. As many six students will be selected in each mandal and also three toppers in Children With Special Needs (CWsN) will also be felicitated. The awardees will cover students from all managements both in govt and private. In Intermediate, the students who secured 830 and above marks shall be considered for selection in a particular district in the preceding academic year covering all managements. Each awardee will be felicitated with a certificate, medal and a cash award of Rs.20,000. In addition, three students will be given Shining Star Award for their highest score in the entire District. Each awardee will be felicitated with a certificate, medal and a cash award of Rs. 20,000. Similarly, 36 awardees will be selected from 26 districts in Intermediate education covering all managements both in govt / private junior colleges in the state from MPC, BIPC, HEC, CEC/MEC and vocational streams and in each stream consisting of SC, ST, Minority, BC, OC and children with special needs (CWsN) categories for felicitation. School education secretary Kona Sasidhar directed the director of govt examinations and Board of Intermediate Examinations to prepare the list of the students based on the merit secured in annual public examinations. In case where multiple students have secured the same marks and percentage as specified above, all such candidates shall be considered for the awards in their respective categories, said Sasidhar. "The students shall be selected for Shining Stars Award irrespective of the income ceiling limit. The receipt of the award amount need not be linked to other welfare scholarship amounts received by the candidate by virtue of their other social/physical disadvantages, as the main objective of the scheme is to recognize the merit and to encourage continuity in their education. All the selected candidates shall be felicitated under Shining Stars Award," said Sasidhar. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Eid wishes , messages , and quotes !
The Hindu
6 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Andhra Pradesh government urged to resolve pending issues of faculty in institutions of higher education
Members of Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) Andhra Pradesh unit have urged the Department of Higher Education authorities to resolve the long-pending issues of the faculty working in public universities and other institutions of higher education. In a letter addressed to the Principal Secretary, Higher Education, Kona Sasidhar, on Sunday (June 1), the Mahasangh's State president Y.V. Rami Reddy and State general secretary D.S.V.S. Balasubramanyam urged Mr. Sasidhar to fill the 5,000 vacant posts in the universities, degree colleges and other institutions of higher education across the State, to abolish the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) and restore the Old Pension Scheme, to release the four pending DA arrears to the employees and to release the retirement benefits and other arrears to the retired employees. They also insisted for immediate appointment of the State Pay Revision Commission (PRC) and fixing of the Interim Relief, to restore the earlier timings of junior colleges from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., implementation of GO No. 110 in all State universities and higher educational institutions and implementation of transfers in the government degree colleges. Pointing out that though the government employees made monthly payments towards health insurance, they were denied the cashless claims facility by the hospitals, the Mahasangh leaders said the department should look into it and do the needful. They said the government had paid only 10% of the employees' dues and urged the authorities to push the redesignation file of the degree college faculty pending at the Secretariat. They also urged the government to appoint full-time Vice-Chancellors to the universities which did not have a regular V-C.
Hans India
26-05-2025
- Hans India
Civil Services Prelims held peacefully: 55% attendance recorded
Tirupati: The Union Public Service Commission's Civil Services Preliminary Examination was conducted smoothly on Sunday across 13 centres in Tirupati. The examinations passed off without any untoward incident, thanks to elaborate arrangements made by the district administration. District Special Officer Kona Sasidhar, Collector S Venkateswar, UPSC Joint Secretary SG Ajmeera, and District Revenue Officer G Narasimhulu inspected several centres throughout the day to oversee the arrangements and ensure the effective implementation of security and logistics. Speaking on the occasion, the Collector said that the Preliminary Examination was held in a peaceful environment. They reviewed the facilities arranged at the centres, including medical camps, drinking water, and other essential amenities. Considering the harsh summer conditions, ORS packets and emergency medicines were made readily available to offer immediate medical assistance to any candidate feeling unwell. Collector Venkateswar instructed examination staff to conduct the exams in a foolproof manner, leaving no scope for malpractice. He emphasised the need for strict monitoring and timely coordination across centres. In terms of attendance, out of 5,261 registered candidates, 2,941 (55.90 percent) appeared for the morning session while 2,320 were absent. In the afternoon session, 2,929 candidates (55.67 percent) appeared, with 2,332 absent. District Superintendent of Police V Harshavardhan Raju also visited the examination centres to assess the security arrangements. He directed staff to carry out thorough frisking of all candidates using metal detectors and ordered that women's bags also be checked carefully. He inquired whether nearby internet cafes and photocopy shops were closed during exam hours, as a precautionary measure to prevent unfair practices. Further instructions were given to ensure that staff remain vigilant throughout both the morning and afternoon sessions. A DSP-level officer was assigned to supervise the process until the conclusion of the exams. To avoid traffic congestion during the afternoon session, the SP also instructed the Traffic DSP to implement suitable measures.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Andhra Pradesh govt. scraps 15% quota for non-locals in higher education institutions
The Andhra Pradesh government has ended a policy that had been in place for over 10 years, under which 15% of seats in the State's professional, undergraduate, and postgraduate colleges were reserved for students from Telangana and other States. The decision is attributed to Section-95 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, which says that the existing admission quotas in all government and private institutions, whether aided or unaided, for higher and technical education, will continue for a period of 10 years from the appointed day of bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh during which the existing common admission process will continue. Now that the period of 10 years since bifurcation of the State has been completed (on June 2, 2024), Secretary of the AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE), in a report submitted to the government, called for attention to the issue and appropriate measures to protect the interests of students hailing from the State. Responding to representations from the parents and students and also to avoid legal complications in the admission process, the government decided to issue amendments to the admission rules of professional and other courses. Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Kona Sasidhar said these amendments, as a temporary measure, would come into force with immediate effect for taking up admissions for the academic year 2025-26 only to courses of Under Graduate, Post Graduate and Ph.D. courses (Regular/Lateral entry), (Engineering, Technology, Pharmacy, Architecture, Pharm. D, Business Administration, Computer Applications, Law Education and Physical Education). He said necessary measures were being taken to make immediate amendments to the Andhra Pradesh Educational Institutions (Regulation of Admissions) Order, 1974. A GO issued to this effect implied that henceforth, all seats in higher education and technical education colleges would be reserved for students of Andhra Pradesh only. The Telangana government had made similar change earlier this year on February 27, 2025 by scrapping the 15% non-local quota in its higher educational institutions.
Hindustan Times
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Andhra Pradesh ends 15% quota in higher education institutions for non-locals
HYDERABAD: The Andhra Pradesh government on Monday ended the decade-long practice to earmark 15% seats in the state's professional, degree, and post-graduate colleges for students from Telangana and other states. Monday's order, signed by secretary (higher education) Kona Sasidhar, implies that all seats in higher education and technical education colleges would be effectively reserved for students from Andhra Pradesh. HT has reviewed the order. The 15% reservation for non-locals was made under Section 95 of the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, that required government and private institutions of higher education in the state to admit local and non-local students in the ratio of 85:15 for a period of 10 years from June 2014. The change in policy was made after the AP State Council of Higher Education reported that the government should protect the interests of the state's students seeking admission to various undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses in engineering, technology, pharmacy, architecture, Pharm D, Business Administration, Computer Applications, Law, Education and Physical Education colleges. Accordingly, the government has decided to amend the admission rules of educational institutions in the state, between Andhra University (AU) and Sri Venkateshwara University (SVU). Students of Andhra University region will be treated as locals in that area and 85% of the seats would be reserved for them. The remaining 15% of the seats would be treated as non-local category and students from Sri Venkateshwara University region could compete for this 15% quota. The same formula would apply to students of Sri Venkateshwara University region, who would get 85% quota and the remaining 15% seats in this region would be thrown open from Andhra University region students. 'Earlier, Osmania University (OU) was also included for admissions, but it has now been removed from AP's purview. So, from now on, admissions will be made based only on AU and SVU regions, making the entire 100% quota available only to AP students,' Sasidhar said. For determining the local candidate status, the order said students who studied in institutions in the erstwhile combined districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, and Prakasam would be considered locals for AU region. Similarly, students who studied in the districts of Anantapur, Kurnool, Chittoor, Kadapa, and Nellore would be considered as locals in the SVU region. The order said a candidate for admission shall be regarded as a local candidate in relation to a local area, if he has studied in an educational Institution or educational Institutions in such local area for a period of not less than four consecutive academic years. Alternatively, the candidate should have resided in the local area for a period of not less than four years immediately preceding the date of commencement of the relevant qualifying examination. Besides the AU and the SVU regions, the state government has also announced a few state-wide universities and institutions, in which students from both the regions are eligible to apply. They are: Sri Padmavathi Mahila Viswa Vidyalayam (SPMVV), Tirupati, Dravidian University (DU), Kuppam, Dr. Abdul Haq Urdu University (AHUU)-Kurnool, Dr YSR Architecture & Fine Arts University, Kadapa, Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies and Silver Jubilee Government College of Cluster University. In these universities, admissions to 85% of available seats shall be reserved in favour of local candidates of Andhra University and Sri Ven. kateswara University regions in the ratio of 65.62% and 34.38% respectively. The remaining 15% seats shall be open to students from both regions on the basis of their score. Andhra Pradesh's move comes months after the Telangana government on February 27 issued similar orders, scrapping 15% non-local quota in the colleges. Accordingly, 85% of seats of Osmania University (OU) Area will be reserved for local candidates, 5% for Telangana natives who have lived outside the state for at least 10 years, and the remaining 10% for specific categories, including children and spouses of Telangana government employees, central government employees serving in Telangana and children of people working in state-recognised institutions.
