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HP has 100% gross enrolment rate in primary, middle & high schools: Jai Ram
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said that gross enrolment ratio of primary, middle and high schools in the state was 100% while in the senior secondary schools, it was 85.6%
Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Sunday asked the central government to allot five TV channels to the state under the recently announced Swayam Prabha scheme to telecast high-quality education programmes.
He was speaking at the Niti Aayog governing council meeting in New Delhi which was presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The meeting discussed self-sufficiency in agricultural production and crop diversification, implementation of national education policy and urban bodies administration.
Thakur said that gross enrolment ratio of primary, middle and high schools in the state was 100% while in the senior secondary schools, it was 85.6%.
This ratio goes up to 98.8% if technical institutions are added to the senior secondary level, he said, adding that girl students in the state were being provided education and free residential facility besides skill education in 14 Kasturba Gandhi Girls Schools.
The chief minister said that the education database is being digitised in the state and capacity building of teachers is being done for preparing high-quality study material in digital mode.
The chief minister said that students in the state have easy access to higher education institutions and infrastructure has been strengthened. Sardar Patel University in Mandi has been made functional from April 2022, he said, adding that the average of state’s gross enrolment ratio in higher education is 40.8% against the national average of 27.1%.
He said that the amount of scholarships under various categories and merit scholarships of girls and boys have also been increased.
He further said that the state government has launched Medha Protsahan Yojana for meritorious students aspiring for competitive services besides Swaran Jayanti Super-100 Yojana.
“State government is also considering starting Mukhyamantri Shodh Protsahan Yojana from the current academic session in universities to facilitate research scholars,” he said, adding that efforts were being made to impart employment-oriented education.
He further informed that drone policy has been framed by the government and students were being imparted training to enable the application of modern technology in the state.
Thakur said the state government was implementing ₹1,010 crore Himachal Pradesh Crop Diversification Scheme in all districts and added that budget provision has been made for promoting mushroom farming, especially shiitake and dhingri varieties.
He said that 31,584 orchardists were covered under state-sponsored schemes whereas 4.15 lakh orchardists benefitted under centrally sponsored schemes in last four and half years.
“To double the income of farmers, 3,590 gram panchayats have been covered under Prakritik Kheti Khushal Kisan Yojana and farmers had saved about ₹9.75 crore by switching over to natural manure instead of chemical fertilisers,” he said.
Thakur said 10 sale centres were set up across the state besides Delhi and Chandigarh for selling natural farming produce.
The HP chief minister also said that the state government was committed to strengthening the administration of urban bodies by filling necessary posts and improving efficiency in delivering speedy and effective services to the people with the help of the latest technology. He said that GIS mapping will be used for assessing and collection of property tax and a single-member municipal committee services regulatory committee will be constituted to settle user fees and setting benchmarks for other MC services.
