For the first time in the history of Himachal Pradesh, the students from government schools have been sent on an international educational tour. Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today flagged-off a group of 50 meritorious students from his official residence, Oak Over, for an 11-day academic tour to Cambodia and Singapore.
These students will return to India on 17 February, 2025. During the visit, they will explore historical landmarks and gain insights into the cultural heritage, architecture, science and technological advancements of both the countries.
The Chief Minister also distributed tablets and travel kits to the students before their departure. Interacting with them, he asked how many were visiting Delhi for the first time and recalled his own first trip to Delhi when he was a college student.
While congratulating the students, the Chief Minister said that the children were the future of the country. Their dreams, education and knowledge would contribute to making India a strong and developed nation.
This journey was not just a tour but a valuable opportunity to learn and develop a broader global perspective. He further said that next year, 100 meritorious students, including orphans, would be sent on a similar foreign tour.
He said that the state government was committed to support orphaned children and had adopted them as 'Children of the State' besides taking legal responsibility for their education and welfare until the age of 27.
As part of this initiative, a group of such children was also sent to Goa last year. Shri Sukhu said that the present state government was giving the top priority to the education sector and several key decisions had been taken to improve its quality.
These efforts would help shape the future of primary and higher education in the state. He said that the previous BJP government only focused on opening new institutions and paid no attention to providing necessary facilities in existing ones.
Whereas, the present government had taken concrete steps, such as sending 200 teachers on an exposure visit to Singapore to adopt global best practices in education. The high-level training for teachers from the best institutions in the country was also being arranged to enhance the quality of education.
The government was committed to ensuring equal access to state resources for all sections of society, he added. The Chief Minister said that to improve the standard of education, the present state government had started English medium from class 1st in all government schools in the state besides establishing Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding schools in a phased manner.
He said that many more schemes would be introduced in the upcoming budget to bring revolutionary changes in the education and health facilities whereas equal importance would be given to strengthen the rural economy.
Encouraging the students, he shared his own experience of studying in a government school and said that with hard work and dedication, they could achieve any goal. Education Minister Rohit Thakur said that the present state government inherited the financial crisis and a poor education system from the previous BJP government.
However, consistent efforts had been made to bring improvements in the education sector, which were now yielding encouraging results. He said that during the BJP's tenure, even 60 percent of the education budget remained unutilized, whereas the present state government had successfully utilized over 95 percent of the budget within two years.
He said that to address the shortage of teachers, more than 3,000 teachers had been recruited through a batch-wise process and the remaining posts were being filled through the Himachal Pradesh Rajya Chayan Aayog.
He assured that no school would remain without a teacher by 31 March. The Education Minister said that Cambodia was chosen for the visit as it was home to the world’s largest Hindu temple and several other significant historical sites.
Expressing her gratitude, Smriti Jaryal, hailing from Chamba district and one of the selected students for the trip, said that she never imagined she would get the opportunity to travel abroad. She thanked the Chief Minister for giving her this opportunity and added that she had been selected under the cultural category and felt fortunate to be part of this initiative.
Mayor, MC Shimla Surender Chauhan, Former CPS Sohan Singh Thakur, State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Rajesh Sharma, Director, Higher Education Amarjeet Singh, Director, Elementary Education Ashish Kohli and other dignitaries were also present on the occasion.