The Governor of Uttarakhand, KK Paul felicitated 22 toppers of State Board with ‘Governor’s award’ at a ceremony held at Rajb Bawan on Friday.
Speaking on the occasion, the Governor said merely getting good marks is not enough for the students. He said that the students should know their capability and try to sharpen them more and move forward in the right direction. Dr Paul said that the teachers have an important role to play in this regard. He exhorted the students to focus on reading good books, biographies/autobiographies of great people to improve their personality and develop character. “All of you should, with full confidence, face every challenge in the present and prepare to make your future bright, ensuring your contribution in nation building. You all should be associated in the Swachh Bharat Mission and also make people aware about using water properly and wisely,” said the Governor.
CM, Harish Rawat was the chief guest on the occasion. In his address, he thanked the Governor for having started the tradition of the Governor’s Award to encourage students and teachers to perform better.
Rawat said that it is heartening to note that Rapirketi (Bageshwar), Kacheela (Pithoragarh) and Dhumakot (Pauri Garhwal) schools had shown excellent performance which highlight that the school education in the state had improved. He said many efforts were being made to improve the standard of education in the state. The CM said that 600 model schools had been identified in the state. The chief minister congratulated the award winners and said efforts must be made to ensure that government schools are among the best schools.
Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani said that due to the Governor’s initiative, results of the board exams has shown improvement. He requested the Governor to increase the amount of cash given as the award. Paul accepted the request and announced that from next year, the amount would be doubled.
Additional Secretary (education) Ranjana Vwhile three toppers were from Class X board.
Top three schools which had given best results were rewarded with Rs50,000, Rs30,000 and Rs20,000 respectively. This amount would be used to enrich the library of these schools.