Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu rolled down two key initiatives in Education department-the distribution of tablets to primary school teachers and the introduction of the ‘Mukhyamantri Bal Paushtik Aahar Yojana’ in Hamirpur. The Chief Minister said that 17,510 primary school teachers across the state would receive tablets as part of the government’s efforts to promote digitization in educational and administrative processes. This initiative aims to modernize teaching methods, improve access to digital educational resources and simplify administrative tasks, such as recording attendance and updating data. By equipping teachers with these tools, there would be improvement in the overall quality of education and enable teachers to effectively present teaching materials. Additionally, the tablets would allow teachers to participate in online training programmes, further enhancing their professional development.
The Chief Minister also launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Bal Poshtik Aahar Yojana’, a scheme designed to provide nutritious food to children in government schools. This scheme, which would complement the existing Mid-Day Meal Scheme, targets students from nursery to class eight across 15,181 schools in the state. “Currently, about 5,34,293 children were getting benefitted from the Mid-Day Meal Scheme would now receive additional nutrition under the new initiative. The scheme would provide children with boiled eggs or fruits once a week, with schools sourcing fresh fruits from local markets based on the preferences of the children,” said he. The state government has allocated an additional budget of Rs. 12.75 crore for the ‘Mukhyamantri Bal Poshtik Aahar Yojana’ for the current financial year.
The Chief Minister said that the state has declined to the 18th place in terms of quality education ranking during previous BJP government, but the present state government is making efforts to improve educational standards. Since coming to power, the present state government has taken significant steps to enhance the quality of education. Thakur He said that the present state government was working on three levels to improve education. “There would be no shortage of funds in providing quality education to the students. Teachers were being sent on exposure visits abroad and in the first phase, 217 teachers have been sent to Singapore. Additionally, to strengthen the educational infrastructure, Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding Schools were being established in every assembly constituency of the State. Teachers bring changes in life and thinking and they inspire progress, which is why they have a significant responsibility,” CM said.
He said that the state government has taken a decision to transfer teachers in government schools only once a year to ensure that students receive good education. Previously, 5,000 teachers remained under transfer throughout the year. Staff would be recruited on an outsourced basis to carry school letters. He said that schools with fewer than five students were being merged with the nearest schools and if necessary, even Rs. 20,000 would be spent on transportation for students. He criticized the previous BJP government for opening over 400 educational institutions without staff and shifting teachers from other schools to new ones, leading to a decline in the quality of education. As a result, the state government had to close schools with zero enrollments. He also stated that colleges would undergo rationalization to provide quality education.
Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the state’s debt burden increased because previous governments lacked the courage to make tough decisions. To gain political advantage, electricity and water bills for affluent families were waived off. If the practice of distributing freebies continues, the per capita debt would reach to Rs. 2 Lakh. He said that despite the poor economic situation, the present state government has provided seven Percent Dearness Allowance (DA) to employees. The arrears for 28,000 pensioners over the age of 75 would be paid this year. He stated, “Government employees are members of my family. It would take another six months for the state’s economy to stabilize. Once the economy is back on track, arrears and DA would be provided. Over Rs. 9,000 crore of NPS funds were stuck with the central government. He urged the employees to support the government in its fight to recover this money from the Central.”
The Chief Minister said that the state government is also upgrading 850 educational institutions to Centres of Excellence. The government has also adopted 6,000 orphaned children as “Children of the State” under the Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashray Yojana. This scheme guarantees their education, care and support until the age of 27, including annual travel and efforts to help them achieve self-sufficiency. A Centre of Excellence is being constructed in Kandaghat, Solan district to provide specialized education for around 300 specially-abled children, enabling them to pursue higher education. He said that the Cluster System has been implemented in schools, grouping institutions within a 500-meter radius to optimize resource use. In response to market demands, the state government has introduced New Age Courses in educational institutions, including Artificial Intelligence, Data Learning, Electric Vehicle Mechanics, Technician Mechatronics, Fibre-to-Home Technology, Solar Technology and Internet of Things (IoT) Technician training.
Education Minister Rohit Thakur stated that Himachal Pradesh has made significant progress in the field of education, with Hamirpur district leading the entire state. He said that, under the guidance of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, efforts were being made to provide quality education. Several tough decisions have been taken, which would yield tangible results in the future. Schools with fewer than five students were being merged with nearby schools and clusters are being formed for better resource utilization. He said that providing tablets to primary teachers would have positive outcomes. He said that the state inherited a poor economic situation, but the Chief Minister has taken several steps to make Himachal Pradesh self-reliant. The Education Department has received approval to fill 7,000 positions, with 2,300 appointments already made. New teachers were being appointed in schools that currently lack staff.
Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani, MLAs Suresh Kumar, Captain Ranjit Singh Rana and Vivek Sharma, Chairman Kangra Cooperative Primary Agriculture and Rural Development Bank Ram Chandra Pathania, Chairman APMC Ajay Sharma, former MLA’s Anita Verma, Sohan Lal and Manjit Dogra, Congress leaders Dr. Pushpinder Verma Subhash Dathwalia and Naresh Thakur, Deputy Commissioner Amarjeet Singh, SP Bhagat Singh Thakur, Director Higher Education Amarjeet Singh, Director Elementary Education Ashish Kohli, State Project Director Samagar Shiksha Rajesh Sharma, District Congress President Suman Bharti were also present on the occasion.
