Give up 'Chalta hai' attitude, Sibal tells states

Give up the 'Chalta hai' (laidback) attitude. This was the word of advice Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal had for the state governments today in the common pursuit to improve quality of education.

Give up the 'Chalta hai' (laidback) attitude. This was the word of advice Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal had for the state governments today in the common pursuit to improve quality of education.

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The advice by Sibal--who got the HRD portfolio in the UPA government's second term two months back--came while addressing a conference of secretaries of school education and literacy here.

Asking the states to give up their "laid-back" approach to improve the quality of education, he said the government wants all state boards to achieve uniform level of excellence.

Referring to the quality of teachers, Sibal said this has been an area of concern for the government. The Right To Education Bill envisges that teachers will have to receive a certain degree in five years time.

"The states should not take five years for this. Chalta hay (laidback) attitude should go. You must target to do it in one or two years," he said.

Targeting the states on another issue, Sibal said the government's initiatives are not being properly implemented at the ground level because of lack of proper monitoring.

The monitoring mechanism could be improved by true partnership between the states and the Centre, he said.