By OUR STAFF REPORTER
Dehradun, 4 Mar: A comprehensive awareness campaign will be launched across the state to achieve an Anaemia and TB-free Uttarakhand by 2025. Teachers and students from schools, colleges, and universities will play a crucial role in this initiative. To make the campaign successful, teachers from all government colleges and education department officials will voluntarily adopt one TB patient each under the “Ni-Kshay Mitra” programme and support their treatment.
State School and Higher Education Minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat held a joint meeting with officials from both departments at his official residence, here, today. It was decided that the School and Higher Education Departments will contribute to the Anaemia and TB-free India campaign through awareness programmes as part of their social responsibility. Dr Rawat directed senior officials to develop a detailed action plan for the initiative.
Key Initiatives Under the Campaign will be: Teachers and officials will voluntarily adopt one TB patient each and assist in their treatment for a year. A step-by-step awareness campaign will be conducted in schools and colleges to eradicate anaemia, ensuring participation from students, teachers, and parents. Workshops and seminars will be held at educational institutions where experts will suggest ways to eliminate malnutrition-related anaemia. Health check-ups for TB and anaemia will be conducted for students with the support of the Health Department and social organisations to ensure the state is TB and anaemia-free by 2025.
Dr Rawat stated that the TB-free campaign is already running successfully under the National Health Mission. So far, 14,000 TB patients have been adopted by various institutions, departments, and individuals, with many already cured. Additionally, 5,000 villages in Uttarakhand have been declared TB-free, marking a significant achievement. He urged teachers from higher education institutions and school education officials to voluntarily participate in this socially responsible mission.
Officials Present in the meeting were Higher Education Secretary Ranjit Sinha, Director General, School Education, Banshidhar Tiwari, Director, Higher Education, Prof Anju Aggarwal, RUSA Advisor Prof MSM Rawat, Prof KD Purohit, Basic Education Director-in-Charge Ajay Kumar Naudiyal, Secondary Education Director-in-Charge Dr Mukul Sati, Deputy Secretary, Higher Education, Byomkesh Dubey, Additional Director Padmendra Saklani, and other departmental officials.
