KL NEWS NETWORK
SRINAGAR
Asserting that quality of human resource will determine empowerment of nations in future, Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, Wednesday outlined the importance of excellence in education so that our youth get accustomed to modern methods of teaching to cope with greater challenges ahead in the field of academics.
He said technology has shrunk world into a global village where competition is becoming tougher by the day. “I wanted to become a doctor but for the fact that science stream was not available in this school, I could not pursue my dream,” he said after returning to his alma mater to inaugurate Boys Higher Secondary School Bijbehara as a Model School.
The Chief Minister was addressing congregations after inaugurating three higher secondary schools as Model Schools at Bijbehara, Ranibagh and Brakpore, in Islamabad district.
While J&K Bank has taken up Bijbehara and Ranibagh schools under CSR, the school at Brakpore has been adopted by the Chief Minister under his CDF.
Placing high priority on upgrading Government schools into institutes of excellence, Mufti Sayeed said the talent of our youth needs to be channelized properly so as to prepare them for the world of cut throat competition. “The world is becoming smaller and the competition getting tougher. We can’t afford to lag behind,” he said, and asked students to seek inspiration from sons of soil like Pervez Rasool, the famous national cricketer.
Laying stress on honing soft skills of students, the Chief Minister asked the teaching fraternity to encourage spoken English as a universal mode of conversation, which will be a premium to the curriculum vitae of students when they complete studies and venture for jobs in the ever-expanding market. “Our students are very intelligent and have the right attitude to adapt to new methods of teaching,” he added.
Mufti Sayeed also laid emphasis on building capacities of teachers so that they are better equipped to impart quality education to their students. He said he won’t stop at upgrading a few schools but stress on going horizontal so that all schools are gradually brought under the ambit of the Model School Scheme. “Well begun is half done,” he said, while calling for efforts from civil society to lay special focus on education of girl child.
In her address, MP Mehbooba Mufti, said the government has put focus back on education to achieve excellence, which was lost when the state faced turbulent times in the last two-and-a-half decades. She urged the teaching fraternity to contribute wholeheartedly in improving standards of education so that our students also get a level-playing field. “Together we will write new chapters in the education sector,” she said, while stressing on promotion of Kashmiri language as a compulsory part of school curricula.
The Chief Minister went around the premises of all these model schools and sat through demo sessions in Smart Classrooms, besides inspecting the upgraded computer labs, laced with modern tools of education.
On the instructions of the Chief Minister, School Education Department has started the process of upgrading government schools as Model Schools at a cost of Rs. 16 crore this financial year. With new tools of learning at their disposal, the Model Schools are set to facilitate continuous evaluation process of students through the mode of e-learning.
The Chief Minister has already inaugurated model schools at Basohli (Kathua), Jammu and Srinagar, where basic infrastructure has been upgraded to match the best standards.
Later, the Chief Minister, who is also the Pro-Chancellor of University of Kashmir, visited the South Campus of the University at High Ground and took a review of skill development institutes. He also inspected the building earmarked for establishing the Nursing College there.
The Vice Chancellor of the University, Dr Khursid Iqbal Andrabi, briefed the Chief Minister about various on-going projects in the South Campus of the university.
The Chief Minister also paid a brief visit to a private educational institution, Enronn, which has all the modern infrastructure, wherewithal and the communication and information technology tools at its disposal for imparting quality education to the students.
The Chief Minister also visited Islamia Hanfia School at Islamabad and called upon the VC Wakf Board to upgrade it on the pattern of Model School Scheme. He also instructed DC Islamabad to immediately release Rs 14 lakh, which has been placed at his disposal for procurement of computers for the school by MP Fayaz Ahmad Laway under MPLADS.
