Himachal: 50 meritorious govt school students embark on foreign tour

Chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday flagged-off a group of 50 meritorious students from his official residence for an 11-day academic tour to Cambodia and Singapore

In a first in Himachal Pradesh, around 50 students from government schools have been sent on an international educational tour

Himachal chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu (File)

Chief minister (CM) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday flagged-off a group of 50 meritorious students from his official residence for an 11-day academic tour to Cambodia and Singapore.

These students will return to India on February 17. 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 CM also distributed tablets and travel kits to the students before their departure.

While congratulating the students, the CM 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.

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. 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.

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% of the education budget remained unutilised, whereas the present state government had successfully utilised over 95% of the budget within two years.