Minister for Education, Naeem Akhtar today stressed the need for strengthening the Integrated School System and making more dynamic investment at primary level to improve quality of education in the government-run educational institutions. Observing that the children in government schools generally come from less educated families, he stressed on raising the standard of primary education to the level where students of government schools can compete with their counterparts from the private schools. The Minister was speaking at the inaugural session of Induction Training programme organized by the Department of Education for the teachers at newly constructed Auditorium of Teachers’ Bhawan at Gandhi Nagar here.He said the integrated school system under which kindergarten classes have been started in some known schools has worked well to build strong foundation for the children. In this regard he cited the excellent performance by the kids of government nurseries in yesterdays’ inaugural programme of the Auditorium. “It was a life changing experience for these children as they got the opportunity to perform at such a big platform and in front of the Chief Minister. This experience is going to inspire them for the whole life”, the Minister asserted.
“It should be the target of every school and teacher to achieve this level of exposure and quality of education at primary level. Only then can we make the government schools centres of academic excellence in the real sense” he said.Minister of State for Education, Priya Sethi, Commissioner Secretary Education, Shaleen Kabra, Director School Education Jammu, Babila Rakwal, teachers from across Jammu province and parts of Kashmir besides other senior functionaries were present.Advising the teachers to give their best, the Minister asked them to imbibe dynamism in their work and take the challenge of transforming the life of the children. “Own the children you teach, be innovative and work with self-motivated approach only then you can cater to the requirement of the society,” he told the teachers. He also encouraged the teachers to admit their wards in the school they teach, maintaining this would motivate them to give their best to the society and attain job satisfaction.The Minister also suggested to encourage practice of making other contributions towards the schools and asked the teachers to take the lead to inspire the whole civil society for this cause. Minister of State for education Priya Sethi, in her address, called upon the teachers to uphold and follow professional ethics and give their best to the society. She asked them to work with dedication, honesty maintain transparency and accountability in their conduct.