Unfolding his vision of transforming educational pattern in the Nagrota Assembly Constituency from average class room to technological hub, Provincial President National Conference and MLA Devender Singh Rana on Thursday exhorted educationists to help in building computer savvy atmosphere in the schools.“For achieving desired objectives societal change and support of parents is imperative”, Rana said while inaugurating a modern library, computer laboratory with broad band facilities for five computers besides well equipped Bio, Physics and Chemistry labs having state-of-art table in Government Girls Higher Secondary School Nagrota. These facilities have cost Rs 22.99 lakhs, of which the MLA Nagrota has provided Rs 10 lakhs out of his Constituency Development Fund..
Deputy Commissioner Jammu Simrandeep Singh, Joint Director Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan, Chief Education Officer and various other senior officers were present on the occasion. The Principals of various schools were also present.Emphasising the significance of computer science in the fast changing technological world, Rana stressed the imperative of teaching this as a subject from 1st Primary to 12th Standard in order to place students in good stead. In this context, he emphasised the crucial role of policy planners in the education department for devising a mechanism where under computer remains within easy reach of the students.He elaborated on the importance of computer sciences and said that since routine clerical jobs have even become computerised, need to make students computer savvy becomes necessary. He hoped that the computer lab in the school will motivate students from primary to higher classes towards technology.
The MLA Nagrota complimented girl students for their hard-work and devotion to studies, saying this has manifested positively with girls yet again shinning in 10th and 12th class examinations, results of which were declared by the Board of School Education recently. He, however, shared his concern over government academic institutions lagging in the merit list, despite having highly qualified faculty, and hoped that this aspect will be thought over by the policy planners and corrective measures taken.In this context, Rana sought academic auditing of the government schools, saying this will help plug loopholes so that these become inspirational institutions of learning.Rana said improvement in academic standards of government schools in rural areas is imperative, as private institutions have either no outreach in such areas or these are too expensive for poor students. “There seems to be no reason why government schools won’t excel, given the high academic profile of teachers”, he maintained.
Spelling out initiatives taken for giving fillip to educational sector in the Constituency, Rana referred to implementation of ambitious Quality Support Programme of the nationally acclaimed Bharti Foundation in 15 government schools in the first instance and said this will help improve the overall quality of schooling experience. As part of the partnership, he said, Bharti Foundation will work with the school leadership and the Directorate of School Education, Jammu to jointly implement interventions that contribute towards enriching the overall schooling experience.Rana congratulated the students for new facilities and hoped that these will further inspire them to achieve academic excellence.Prominent among those present on the occasion included Sarpanch Rameshwar Dutt, Sarpanch Joginder, Sarpanch Asa Ram, Sarpanch Kulbushan Singh, Sarpanch Iqbal, Madan Lal Sharma, Mangal Singh, Puran Singh, Naty, Panch Bablu, Panch Rajinder, Abdul Rashid, Suman, Shreshta, Nazira Bibi, Naseem and others. (KNS)