Nara Lokesh pitches Singapore summer trips for AP teachers, joint workshops for ministers

The proposals were made during the third meeting of the Andhra Pradesh-Singapore Joint Implementation Standing Committee at the APCRDA office in Amaravati

Andhra Pradesh’s minister for human resources development and information technology, Nara Lokesh, on Wednesday pitched for expansion of bilateral training programmes with Singapore including summer exposure trips for schoolteachers and joint governance workshops for cabinet ministers and bureaucrats, according to an official statement.

Andhra Pradesh minister and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) national president Nara Lokesh (Handout)

The proposals were made during the third meeting of the Andhra Pradesh-Singapore Joint Implementation Standing Committee (JISC) at the APCRDA office in Amaravati, which he co-chaired with Singapore’s minister of state for foreign affairs and trade and industry Gan Siow Huang.

Lokesh thanked Singapore for facilitating training for six Andhra Pradesh ministers and 37 teachers and proposed sending outstanding teachers to Singapore during summer vacations for exposure to international teaching methods and innovative classroom practices.These teachers could then share their experience with educators across the state through school complex meetings.

Lokesh also proposed joint training programmes for ministers and departmental secretaries under the Singapore-Andhra Pradesh Governance Excellence (SAGE) initiative, saying a common understanding of policy priorities would improve coordination and programme implementation.

The discussions also covered Singapore’s expertise in digital transformation, integrated governance platforms, command-and-control centres and data-driven administration. Lokesh said these initiatives could help the state improve public service delivery and administrative efficiency. He also proposed six-monthly reviews to assess progress, identify bottlenecks and ensure timely execution.