Punjab Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains, today marked a significant milestone in the state's pursuit of elevating the quality of school education by flagging off two more batches of 60 principals for training in Singapore, from MGSIPA, Chandigarh.
While address the gathering, Mr. Bains emphasized the dedicated efforts of the Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government to bring Punjab's school education up to international standards. Recognizing the pivotal role of teachers and school leaders in achieving this goal, Mr. Bains highlighted the state's comprehensive training programs both within India and abroad to augment their professional capabilities and introduce them to global best practices in school education.
Mr. Bains informed that starting from February 2023, the state government has successfully trained four batches of Principals, with each batch comprising 30 to 36 participants. These training programs were conducted in collaboration with prestigious institutes such as PAI, Singapore and NIEI, Singapore.
The curriculum focused on contemporary administrative and educational skills, including innovative teaching methods, mentorship etc.He said that with new batches on training, the count rose to 200 school principals and 100 headmasters, who have been imparted training of international repute.
Earlier, 140 Principals have benefited from foreign training programs in Singapore, while 100 Headmasters have undergone training at the esteemed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad. These teachers are now better equipped to lead their institutions towards excellence and provide a conducive learning environment for students, he added.
The Education Minister underscored the importance of the current training batches, which are the 5th and 6th groups of 60 Principals selected through a transparent online portal based purely on merit, saying that these educators will receive specialized training at NIEI Singapore, focusing on effective leadership skills, community involvement for school development and maintaining school discipline.
Mr. Bains also highlighted the positive impact of these training programs, adding that feedback and follow-up of participants’ shows that after training they are feeling motivated and implementing some of the best tested practices in their respective schools.
He said that the entire teacher community and various stakeholders have applauded this government initiative, recognizing its contribution to enhancing the quality of education in the state of Punjab.
Announcing a groundbreaking initiative to further enhance the quality of education, Mr. Harjot Singh Bains disclosed that Punjab is actively working towards providing international exposure to its primary school teachers also.As part of this endeavours, primary school teachers will soon embark on an educational journey to Finland, renowned for its world-class education system.
Underscoring the monumental strides made by the Mann government in education sector in the past one and a half years, Mr. Bains articulated a comprehensive overview of the significant developments that have reshaped Punjab's education sysyem. He said that government schools in Punjab are witnessing a transformative change.
The quality of education has improved significantly, leading to better academic results and increased admissions. He also acknowledged the role of government jobs in curbing the migration of Punjab's youth to other countries in search of employment opportunities.
By creating job prospects within the state, the government is not only retaining its talented youth but also contributing to Punjab's overall growth and development, he added.
Takes opposition leaders iron handedly
Taking strong stance against misleading information by opposition leaders, Mr. Harjot Singh Bains said, during their respective tenures, Sukhbir Badal, Harsimrat Badal, Bikram Majithia, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Pratap Singh Bajwa and Pargat Singh have failed to make any improvement in education, and now they are misleading the people of Punjab through false information on government schools, while Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government is continuously striding for bringing positive changes to the education system.
"If these rejected leaders were genuinely striving to improve the government schools, they should first demonstrate any of their tweets regarding education reform made before Bhagwant Singh Mann assumed power", said Harjot Singh Bains, adding that actually these parties had been in power since the independence, but as of now, many schools were lacking of even boundary wall. And, today they are spreading falsehoods about the School of Eminence, claiming that these schools were established during their tenure.
The Education Minister clarified that our government had initiated the construction of 117 schools in the first phase, with the first School of Eminence already underway in Amritsar and the remaining 116 schools would be completed soon.
He asked Sukhbir Badal, Harsimrat Badal, Majithia, Raja Warring, Pratap Singh Bajwa and Pargat Singh to provide a list of schools they wish to convert into 'School of Eminence' and the government will consider their proposals to develop these schools under the School of Eminence initiative.