Sukhu hands over appointment letters to 312 drawing teachers

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today handed over appointment letters to 312 drawing teachers at a formal ceremony held in Shimla. “The Prime Minister also distributes appointment letters, so we have learnt from him. Besides, the BJP keeps saying that no jobs have been given. So, we decided to issue appointment letters this way so that they can see,” Sukhu quipped after the function.

The CM also gave send-off to a group of five students from government schools on an educational tour to Japan. These students would visit various academic institutions and historical sites across Japan. During the event, the Chief Minister launched several educational initiatives, including the student-centric news platform edsk Express, Baseline School Ranking Accreditation Report, Geo-tagged and Geo-fenced Smart ‘Upsthiti’ (attendance monitoring system) and the Vidya Samiksha Kendra.

No going back on OPS

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu reiterated that Old Pension Scheme would not be withdrawn in the state. "There's pressure to switch to UPS, but we will not step back from OPS. We did not bring OPS back for political gains, but to ensure a dignified life for government employees post-retirement," he said. He also blamed the Opposition leaders for misleading people over the Job Trainee Policy, clarifying that trainees would be regularised after two years of service.

Congratulating the newly appointed teachers, the CM highlighted the progress that the state has made in education over the over two years. “When the Congress government came to power, the state ranked 21st nationally in terms of quality education. Today, we have moved up to the 5th position,” he said.

Sukhu said his government was committed to bringing revolutionary reforms in the education sector, with several initiatives already underway. “The government has already appointed 5,100 TGTs (Trained Graduate Teacher) in medical, non-medical and arts streams, and a rationalisation drive underway in schools where student-teacher ratio is imbalanced,” he added.

The Chief Minister also said the state government was seriously considering a policy to prevent teachers from retiring in the middle of an academic session, in order to avoid disrupting students’ learning. The government is also planning to end year-round promotions to ensure teaching posts do not fall vacant mid-session.

Education Minister Rohit Thakur said the state was on the path to achieve 100 per cent literacy. “We are hill people and we are equipped to overcome tough conditions,” he said, attributing the rise in education rankings to the CM’s vision and relentless efforts of the staff.