HT education summit: National Education Policy has essence of Indian soil, says CM Chouhan

Chouhan also spoke about the challenges faced by students to showcase their talent due to insufficient knowledge of the English language, adding that some of them develop an inferiority complex due to this.

The National Education Policy (NEP) has the essence of Indian soil, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday said at the Hindustan Times Education Summit, while lauding initiatives taken by his government to uplifting the sector in the state.

Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan (Hindustan Times via Getty Images)

Chouhan said the state government has launched initiatives in line with NEP to allow students to learn in their mother tongue.

“All students, even from a poor background, should not be devoid of education. Therefore, we have launched several initiatives toward the betterment of their education. Students in rural areas don’t go to schools by walking rather they go by cycles,” he said.

“The latest education policy talks about introducing business education. Therefore, we introduced business studies from class six in selected schools,” he added.

Chouhan was addressing an audience of principals, heads of institutions, educationists. The theme of the summit was “Education Meets Innovation: Transforming Learning Through Technological Interventions”.

He said the objectives of education are to provide knowledge, skill sets, and good civic manners.

He spoke about the policy of establishing schools in villages, and said it sometimes becomes difficult to scout for proficient teachers to maintain the standard of education in every school. “Therefore, we thought that we will open fully functional schools within the limit of 20-25km where students can attend from nearby villages,” he said.

Chouhan also spoke about the challenges faced by students to showcase their talent due to insufficient knowledge of the English language, adding that some of them develop an inferiority complex due to this.

“Studying in the mother tongue will instil confidence in students, and ensure better learning of different subjects. By this, we are not discouraging students to study English. Our initiative also encourages English learning as well,” he said. “Madhya Pradesh will be the first state to begin delivering medical and engineering education in Hindi.”