Chief Minister V. Narayanasamy has promised higher allocation of funds in budget for education in Puducherry.
Expressing concern over lack of proper infrastructure in government schools, the Chief Minister said that the present situation needs to change. Addressing the Students’ Day celebrations on Friday, the Chief Minister said: “We visited few government schools in Puducherry. We found the schools lack in infrastructure. The furniture in classrooms are broken, toilets and school premises are dirty. While students in foreign countries are learning in smart classrooms using high technology, we are still grappling with the basic infrastructure facilities.” He added that this has to change and policies will be formulated to bring in this change.
He stressed on the importance of providing quality education in government schools. Mr. Narayanasamy said: “Puducherry was considered a Union Territory with 100 per cent literates. That alone is not enough. The policy of this government is to ensure quality education for students studying in Puducherry whether they are pursuing science, medicine or engineering.”
ADVERTISEMENT
The Chief Minister said that the quality of education in government schools should be on par with the private schools.
“Children studying in private schools especially CBSE syllabus do well in competitive examinations while the government school children trail behind. They have better opportunities than the students studying in government schools. Quality of education in government schools has to be increased. More training would be provided for teachers in government schools,” he said.
Mr. Narayanasamy detailed the contribution of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Kamaraj in the field of education. “Elementary education is very important to lay the foundation for higher education. Kamaraj ensured that even in remote villages. Even when there was no money with the government, he sought land from landlords to start schools. This is one of the reasons why Tamil Nadu stands first in education,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Education Minister R. Kamalakannan stated that everyone should follow in the footsteps of veteran leader Kamaraj.
The Chief Minister and the Education Minister distributed prizes to Class X and XII rank holders and winners of different competitions held in view of the Students Day Celebrations. Government schoolchildren performed various cultural programmes as part of the celebrations.