Minister of State for Education, Culture and Information, Priya Sethi today called for establishing cultural clubs in schools and colleges to promote the cultural and literary activities amongst the students.The Minister made these observations during a high-level meeting of officers convened here to discuss the ways and means to promote cultural and literary activities in the state.The meeting was attended by Secretary Culture, Mr. Hemant Sharma, Secretary Cultural Academy, Dr Aziz Hajni Director Colleges Prof. T.A. Kawoosa, Director School Education, Jammu, Ms Smita Sethi, Director School Education, Kashmir, Dr. Shah Faisal.The Minister directed the officers of education department to create special heritage corners and cultural clubs in the schools and colleges to acquaint and attract the students towards the rich culture and heritage of Jammu and Kashmir so that they carry on the legacy along with them. She also stressed on organizing talent hunt programmes to promote and nurture the talent of the youth in different fields.
Priya also asked the concerned departments to generate awareness about the various cultural and literary events by organizing special awareness camps across the State. She also called for promoting the moral ethics in the schools so that the younger generation remains connected with their roots. “Western culture has strongly influenced the young minds and they are distancing from their culture which is not a healthy sign. The teachers have greater responsibility in shaping the future of younger generation in such a way that after attaining their education, they become responsible citizens and contribute in nation building. Lecture on moral education should be the regular feature in the schools and colleges to enrich the students about the social issues confronted by the society” said the Minister.
Priya exhorted for better synergy among cultural academy, education department and credible NGOs to organize heritage, book festivals and seminars to highlight the importance of various flagship programmes like Beti Padao-Beti Bachao, Swachh Bharat Abhyan, Ladli Beti, Aasra and other social issues on regular basis in the schools and colleges across the State to enrich the knowledge of students in social issues.The Minister also called for organizing capacity building training programmes for the in-service teachers/heads of the institutions with special emphasis on conservation of cultural, heritage and natural resources like forests, water bodies and issues related to the climate change and global warming which are cause of concern for everyone.