Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said that the state government would provide all possible assistance to make Government Girls Senior Secondary School Portmore, Shimla as one of the premier institution for girl education in the State. He was addressing the annual day function of Portmore school, today.While laying stress on girl education, the Chief Minister said that it was a sure way of giving them much greater power for enabling them to make genuine choices over the kinds of lives they wish to lead. He said that education helps women to be more productive in their work. A knowledgeable woman has the skills, information, talent, and self-confidence that she requires to be a superior mother, employee, and a resident. Women constitute almost half the population of our country, he added. He said that educational institutes like Portmore play a vital role in this direction and women empowerment.Jai Ram Thakur congratulated the prize winner students who excelled in different fields. He said that the alumni of this school have earned name in different walks of life, which was a matter of pride for the institution.
He said that the girls of Portmore have earned a reputation for their institution.He announced Rs 51,000 from his discretionary fund to the students who performed cultural programme on the occasion.Earlier, the Chief Minister inaugurated the modern library and multi- gym of the school and also unveiled the statue of ‘Maa Saraswati’ in school complex. He also released the school magazine ‘Vatika’ on the occasion.The Chief Minister was presented a draft of Rs 31,000 by NSS of the school on this occasion.He honoured the old students of the school whose name would be inscribed on ‘School Honour Board’ under the programme “Akhand Shiksha Jyoti Mere School Ke Nikle Moti”. He also distributed prizes to meritorious students.School Principal Narinder Sood read out the annual report of the school. He said that Portmore was the first girl's school in the state with hostel facility. He urged the Chief Minister for construction of new hostel block for the girls.Education Minister Suresh Bharadwaj, Mayor Kusum Sedrate, Deputy Mayor Rakesh Sharma, Secretary Education Dr. Arun Sharma, Member, State Public Service Commission Dr. Rachna Gupta, Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap, President School Management Committee Rameshwar Dutt, Joint Director and former student of the school Arjun Awardee Suman Rawat Mehta were also present on the occasion among others.