Visakhapatnam: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today said his government wants to develop the state as an education and knowledge hub and is utilising infotech in a big way to achieve this goal.

Speaking at an event here, he emphasised on the importance of education.

“Education is very essential. Without education man can not develop. So I appeal to parents to give good education to their children instead of giving property.

“Once a child gets educated, he can earn crores of rupees. Education is key to human development,” he said.

The chief minister was addressing a three-day conference, `Transforming Education Conference for Humanity (TECH) 2017′, here.

The Andhra Pradesh government has been utilising informational technology in a big way to usher in large-scale changes in the management of administration, Naidu said.

The government’s aim is to position Andhra Pradesh as a hub of education and knowledge, he added.

Naidu said the government has established 1,500 call centres to get quick information on welfare schemes being implemented in the state.

“My aim is to place Andhra Pradesh among the best three states in the country by 2022 and No. 1 in utilisation of IT.”

Speaking on the occasion, Union Minister of State for Human Resources Development Satyapal Singh underlined the need for modern education, an area in which India lags behind.

He rued that 19 million children in the age group of under-8 don’t have access to education.

Singh said the Union government will consider the request of the Andhra Pradesh government to establish a Centre of Excellence in Visakhapatnam.