Residential education in the public sector for the rural is the contribution of the late prime minister, P V Narasimha Rao drawing cue from the concept of "Gurukulam" (గురుకులం) in the epic stories of ancient India, Mr. Rao conceived the idea of setting up residential schools in Andhra Pradesh. The idea of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in the country are also the brainchild of Mr. Rao.
Mr. Rao, soon after becoming the Chief Minister of the State, had set up a residential school for boys at Sarvail near Samsthan Narayanpur in Nalgonda district in November, 1971.
He brought about a piece of legislation in 1972 forming the Andhra Pradesh Residential Educational Institutions (APREI) Society and had it registered under the Societies Act. This is an autonomous body with State funding. With the advent of the APREI Society, the State Government added two new schools, one at Tadikonda in Guntur district and another Kodigenahalli in Anantapur district. With the result, all the three regions in the State, coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema and Telangana had one school each.