Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 25 Sep: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today felicitated 75 meritorious students who have secured top ten positions in the High School and Intermediate board examinations under Uttarakhand Board with the Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Educational Excellence Award. The event was held at the SCERT Auditorium in Nanoorkheda here today.
Principals of three schools that have achieved outstanding results, along with principals of the top fifty schools in each category, were also honoured on this occasion.
Addressing the gathering, the CM reminded that Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was a multi-faceted personality who believed that education should not be confined to books alone but must instil patriotism, moral values, social harmony and practicality. He said it was with this vision that Prime Minister Narendra Modi implemented the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), a historic step towards making the education system more modern, practical and qualitative. He added that the state government is committed to fostering innovation, digital learning and Indian values in education. Smart classrooms, digital libraries and online learning platforms have been developed in educational institutions across Uttarakhand. Additionally, the book ‘Humari Virasat’ is also being introduced for classes 6 to 8 to familiarise students with India’s cultural heritage, folk traditions and eminent personalities of the nation and the state.
On the occasion, Dhami shared that 226 schools in the state are being developed as PM Shri Schools and virtual classes are being conducted in 1,300 schools across all 13 districts. Five PM e-Vidya channels are also operational to provide online education in remote areas. All students from classes 1 to 12 in government and government-aided schools are being provided free textbooks, while meritorious students from classes 6 to 12 in government and private institutions are being given monthly scholarships under the Chief Minister Meritorious Student Promotion Scholarship Scheme. Further, meritorious students of classes 10 and 12 from each development block are being taken on educational tours across India for their personality development. He also announced that the government is extending financial assistance of Rs 50,000 to candidates who clear the written examinations of UPSC, NDA and CDS to support their interview preparation.
Reminding the gathering about recent reforms, the CM said that Uttarakhand has enacted the country’s strictest anti-copying law to curb the cheating mafia. He said that, in the past four years, over 25,000 youths had secured government jobs, many from ordinary families clearing multiple examinations. This, he added, was a stark contrast to the 21 years after the formation of the state, when only 16,000 appointments were made in total. Since the anti-copying law came into effect, more than 100 people involved in malpractice have been jailed. The Chief Minister alleged that some individuals unhappy with transparent recruitment processes were conspiring to jeopardise the future of youths, citing a recent attempt to leak a paper and efforts to create anarchy on the basis of a single complaint. He stressed that strict laws already exist to deal with such matters and firm action would be taken.
Dhami asserted that the government has decided to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe recent examination irregularities and assured decisive action against those found guilty. He declared that the government would arrest and punish every copying mafia operating in the state. He reiterated that soon after taking oath he had resolved to fill vacant posts on priority, as a result of which a record number of recruitments had taken place. He claimed that attempts were being made to derail the recruitment process through a CBI inquiry, whereas the government’s intent was to ensure recruitments with transparency and timeliness. He assured that no youth would be subjected to injustice due to delays.
Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the number of students passing with first division in this year’s board examinations has risen by 18 per cent. He added that improvement examinations were also being conducted, thereby reducing academic pressure on students.
The event was also attended by Education Secretary Ravinath Raman, Director General of Education Dipti Singh and other senior officials of the department.
