ief Minister Jai Ram Thakur presided over the "Medhavi Chhatar Samman Samaroh", a Meritorious Students Felicitation Program of Amar Ujala Group here today and gave away the prizes and certificates to 216 meritorious students of the State who had excelled in the annual board examinations of class X and class XII.
These included 103 toppers of class 10th and 113 toppers of class 12th of Himachal Pradesh Board of School Education.While congratulating the meritorious students, their parents and guardians, the Chief Minister said that today these meritorious students had received the rewards for their hard work and these would be the unforgettable moments of their lives.
He said that these bright students would definitely attain new heights in every sphere of life and would bring laurels to the State also.He also exhorted the students to work hard and make focused efforts in this era of cut throat competition so that they could lay the foundation for a successful future.
He also urged the parents to motivate the children to work hard with full responsibility because they were the first teachers of their children. He said that the children must give full respect to their parents and teachers.The Chief Minister said that there was a need of providing a cultured and healthy environment to the children in this age of technology.
Parents and teachers would have to make collective efforts for this. He said that it was the responsibility of all of us to provide a bright future to the children by remaining alert and aware of the evils like drugs. He said that the children should also be motivated to actively participate in sports and other activities so that the all-round development of the students could be ensured.
This would also keep them away from drugs and other evils.Congratulating the Amar Ujala group for organizing the Meritorious Students Felicitation Program, the Chief Minister said that this group had established its own identity as the fourth pillar of democracy and maintained the highest ethics of journalism.
He said that Amar Ujala Group was also doing a commendable job in providing a platform to the talented students especially at the village level.He said that quality education was the need of the modern era and our government was committed to providing quality education.
He said that the future of the children of the state was being shaped by the quality education being imparted in institutions across the state.Jai Ram Thakur said that Himachal Pradesh had made tremendous progress in the field of education since its inception. Himachal was one of the leading states in the literacy rate.
He said that during the Corona period also the state government had ensured the quality education to the children. Education through online mode was ensured through the "Har Ghar Pathshala" program of the education department.
Students were connected through WhatsApp and other modes. About two lakh WhatsApp groups were created and more than 80 percent of the students were covered under this program.Jai Ram Thakur said that under the able and visionary leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country was able to recover swiftly from COVID pandemic.
The Prime Minister had not only inspired our scientists to make indigenous vaccines but also successfully conducted the world's largest vaccination campaign in the country.Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Virendra Kanwar, Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Minister Rajinder Garg were present as special guests on this occasion.
Earlier, Group Advising Editor of Amar Ujala Group, Uday Kumar welcomed the Chief Minister and other distinguished guests. He said that despite the Corona pandemic, the State Government had ensured the smooth functioning of the education system in Himachal Pradesh.
He also thanked the State Education Board and the parents for making this event a success. He said that this was the 19th program in the series of "Medhavi Chhatar Samman Samaroh" of Amar Ujala Group. He said this program had been organized since the year 2002. However, this function could not be held twice during the Covid period.
Chairman APMC Shimla Naresh Sharma, Director of Information and Public Relations Department Harbans Singh Brascon, Resident Editor of Amar Ujala Group Rakesh Bhatt and Head of Shimla Unit Dheeraj Roman along with other senior officials and dignitaries were present in the function.