Hailing the visionary approach of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to set up meritorious schools in the state, the Union Human Resource Development Minister Mrs. Smriti Zubin Iraani today announced that the Government of India would explore the feasibility to adopt this unique model of imparting quality school education at national level to benefit the economically poor but bright students.Addressing the students after visiting meritorious school here today, the Union Minister said that this model has shown a way to Government of India for benefitting the poor but meritorious students adding that by opening such schools Mr. Badal has created a history in the country.
She urged the Chief Minister to send the team of experts to the GoI so that their valuable advice could be incorporated in new education policy to replicate this model at national level for benefitting poor but meritorious students across the country. Mr. Badal's dedication for upliftment of education in the state has hardly any match in the country due to which Punjab is being immensely benefitted, added Mrs. Irani.In his address the Chief Minister said that the state was blessed with students who despite belonging to economically weaker strata of society were excellent in their studies. He said that the state government had opened these schools with a sole aim to tap their enormous potential to full extent. Mr. Badal said that this model of schooling was need of the hour to ensure that students from economically weaker sections were enormously benefitted.The Chief Minister further said that realizing the unprecedented success of the ‘Meritorious School’ model in the state, the Punjab government has recently approved the setting of three more such schools at Sangrur, Ferozepur and Gurdaspur districts at a cost of Rs. 30 crore each to provide free quality education and hostel facilities for all the brilliant students of the government schools, who had scored 80% or above marks in the Matriculation examinations.
He said that these schools would be established on the pattern of already existing seven such Meritorious Schools at SAS Nagar (Mohali), Patiala, Bathinda, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Talwara (Hoshiarpur). Mr. Badal said that these schools were not only imparting academic education but also providing coaching to students for the competition exams, communication skills and others so as to compete at par with their peers from public and convent schools.Earlier the Chief Minister, Union Food Processing Minister Mrs. Harsimrat Kaur Badal and Union HRD Minister Mrs. Smriti Irani had detailed interactive session with the children of this school.Prominent amongst other present on the occasion included Cabinet Minister Dr. Daljit Singh Cheema, Chief Parliamentary Secretary Mr. Sarup Chand Singla, Assistant Media Advisor to Deputy CM Mr. Harjinder Sidhu and Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. KJS Cheema.