Himachal minister Thakur admits decline in education standards in govt schools

Education Minister Rohit Thakur has admitted that the performance of government schools is not good as compared to private schools. However, he claimed that the state government was committed to raise the standards of education in government schools.

He was addressing a gathering after performing ‘bhoomi poojan’ of Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding School at Nagrota Bagwan in Kangra district on Friday. The MLA of Nagrota Bagwan and vice-chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Corporation Raghuvir Bali was also present along with him.

Adding that the standard of education in the government schools has declined in the past few years, he said it was in this context that the government has decided to construct Rajiv Gandhi day boarding schools at various locations in the hill state. These Schools of Excellence will bridge the gap between government and private schools.

The minister said these schools would be constructed with an excellent building having modern facilities, playgrounds, laboratories etc. “The main aim to construct these schools is to attract more students as compared to the private schools and provide education better than private schools,” he said.

“We have already allocated Rs 2.50 crore for this school at Nagrota Bagwan, the construction work of which will begin soon,” Thakur said. A total of Rs 5 crore will be spent on the construction of this school, the minister said.

He said such schools will be constructed in all the 68 Assembly constituencies of the state but in the first phase the government has decided to construct 18 schools out of which construction work on five schools has already begun.

Significantly, in Class-10 results declared by the Himachal Pradesh School Education Board on Thursday, 97 students of private schools bagged the first 10 positions in the merit list. Only 20 students of government school managed to figure in first 10 positions. It’s a huge gap with regard to standards of education between the private and government schools which the education minister himself admitted in a public address today.