With an aim to inculcate a sense of competitiveness amongst children studying in government schools, an NGO with the help of District Administration has started a project in which they would train and educate students of class eighth and ninth with a sole aim of helping them secure 80 percent marks in class tenth. By doing this, those students would become eligible for seeking admission in School for Meritorious Students which has been started by the Punjab government.A city based NGO named Ameliorating India has adopted 65 students from five government schools of the city, namely- Government Senior Secondary School for boys and for girls in Jawahar Nagar, Government High School at Jawaddi, Government Model Senior Secondary School in Model Town and Government High School in Ambedkar Nagar.
The NGO has been holding classes for these students at Government Model Senior Secondary School in Model Town.Deputy Commissioner Mr Rajat Agarwal informed that the Punjab government has come up with this flagship project of School for Meritorious Students at Ludhiana as well as in other districts of the state. He said that the sole aim of these schools is to prepare students for competitive exams after class twelfth.Accompanied by ADC (Development) Mr Supreet Singh Gulati, the Deputy Commissioner visited the school premises today evening. He not only interacted with the students but even urged them to work hard. The Deputy Commissioner motivated the students to set an aim for themselves and then work hard to achieve it. He said that during his free time, he often interacts with students who want to achieve something in life. The DC also shared his personal experiences with the students and told them that he would keep visiting their class on regular intervals.
Col (Retd) N K Ghai, Director, Ameliorating India, said that they are not only providing teaching aids to the students, but also provide them refreshment in the form of milk and fruits. He informed that the idea of starting this programme of educating students of class eighth, ninth and tenth came to his mind after he discussed it with his friends and family, most of them who are educationists.He said that out of 65 students from five government schools, 38 are girls while remaining boys. He said that at present, they are teaching students of class eighth and ninth and very soon, they would start classes for class tenth as well. He said that these students are taught by teachers whose educational qualification is minimum M.Sc. The classes are held for Maths and Science subjects from 4pm to 6 pm daily (except Sundays). Col Ghai said that if this programme is a success, their NGO plans to start teaching of all subjects and might broaden their reach to other schools of the district and then of the state.The Deputy Commissioner was also accompanied by senior district administration officials such as DEO (Secondary) Mrs Paramjit Kaur Chahal, District Welfare Officer Mr Rajinder Singh, besides several others.