The directives were issued during a review meeting at the minister’s residence in Undavalli, attended by senior officials from the School Education, Higher Education and Skill Development departments.
Lokesh said the state would roll out a special programme that combines mental‑health awareness, guidance and institutional support, citing the completion of a pilot for the CARE AP tool, which was developed to address students’ mental‑health concerns.
Referring to the Heartfulness Yoga initiative, the minister ordered that yoga training be provided to roughly 4.47 lakh students in the first phase, with 2,000 interested teachers to be trained by the Kanha Shanti Vanam organisation in Hyderabad; the teachers will conduct hybrid yoga classes this year and fully physical sessions from the next academic year.
He also set a target of 90 % pass rates in both Class 10 and Intermediate examinations, urged officials to meet and exceed KPI targets, and proposed the use of facial‑recognition systems in universities and colleges to improve attendance monitoring.
In the literacy arena, Lokesh reaffirmed the goal of achieving 100 % literacy under the Akshara Andhra programme by the end of next year, aligning with Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu’s vision.
Turning to skill development, the minister directed the creation of ten industry‑linked ITI clusters under the PM SETU scheme in the first phase, seeking inputs from sectors such as steel, renewable energy, aquaculture and pharmaceuticals, and asked for a 90‑day action plan. The Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation reported that 5.43 lakh people have received training statewide, with 1.72 lakh securing jobs through recent job fairs.
Lokesh also called for the involvement of MLAs and other public representatives in organising future job fairs to broaden employment opportunities for the state’s youth.