Govt to set up core group for school education reforms

GROUP WILL FOCUS ON BRINGING CURRICULUM ON PAR A WITH THAT OF PRIVATE AND CONVENT SCHOOLS, TO SUBMIT ITS REPORT BY JUNE 15

: Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Friday ordered the constitution of a core group of teachers from across the state, including the border areas, to suggest reforms in the school education system.

The chief minister issued the directions to secretary, school education, Krishan Kumar in this regard during a high-level meeting to review the results of Classes 10 and 12 of the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB). The core group, which will focus on bringing reforms in the existing curriculum to bring it on par with that of private and convent schools, will submit its report by June 15, said an official spokesperson.

The CM offered full support of the state government for providing necessary infrastructure and manpower for the development of government schools, said the spokesperson.

The meeting was attended by education minister OP Soni, top officials of school education department, besides representatives of teaching staff.

Krishan Kumar informed Amarinder that there was 5% and 7% improvement, respectively, in the Class X and XII results, even though the department had cracked down completely on unfair practices during the examinations.

Amarinder, while directing the core group to put in place a mechanism to stimulate student interest in education, urged it to involve teachers with a track record of achieving 100% results in Classes 10 and 12 in the improvement process.

The CM also assured of all steps by the government to overcome shortage of teaching staff in schools and to ensure regular upgrade of their skills. He directed the education minister to ensure time-bound implementation of reforms and also sought from the education department a detailed proposal for the introduction of foreign languages such as French, Chinese and German etc. in the schools as optional subjects to equip the students to compete in the global job market.

The education minister was also directed to honour the school teachers who have excelled in achieving better results on the occasions of Independence and Republic days in order to motivate them and exemplify their services for others to emulate. Prominent amongst others present in the meeting were chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh, principal secretary, finance, Anirudh Tiwari, principal secretary to chief minister Tejveer Singh, special principal secretary to chief minister Gurkirat Kirpal Singh, director general, school education, Prashant Kumar Goyal and PSEB chairman Manohar Kant Kalohia.