Questions are being raised at the lack of improvement in the quality of education even though a large sum amounting to about Rs2,000 crore is being spent by the education department each year. Teachers should improve their performance to the required level, said Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat after awarding 26 Government school teachers with the Shailesh Matiyani State teachers’ award for extraordinary work in their schools on Thursday.
The awardees were each given Rs10,000 cash award, citation letter, shawl and two year service extension to the age of 62 years.
Rawat said that successful development of model schools by the State education department will set a benchmark for State’s education. Fund constraints will not affect implementation of the schemes launched by the central Government for improving education quality in Government schools. The State Government will also make the required budgetary provision for this in the upcoming budget.
Expressing disappointment at level of education being provided to students in Government schools, exhorted teachers to improve their performance on the lines of recipients of the Shailesh Matiyani awards. The government may consider the possibility of raising the retirement age of teachers, he averred.
Exhorting the teachers to focus on providing quality education in schools, he reiterated the State Government’s commitment to provide necessary facilities to them.
He said that teachers’ transfers had been put on hold temporarily due to increasing numbers of applications from the teachers seeking transfer from mountainous region to the plains. He directed education department officials to draft an annual evaluation system for all the schools. Announcing institution of awards named after Uttarakhand native and renowned newsreader of the All India Radio, Devaki Nandan Pandey, the CM said that the top 50 schools will be presented this award also comprising Rs 50,000 each.
Rawat also launched Sampark Smart Class Programme to cover about 12, 000 government primary schools with 4.5 lakh students. The programme being implemented under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in collaboration with Sampark Foundation is aimed at ensuring that 80 per cent of children are able to do basic mathematics and learn 500 words vocabulary to be able to speak and write in English after a year of the start of the programme implementation in the schools.
Computer tablets to 100 government schools were also distributed on the occasion by the Punjab National Bank zonal general manager Vivek Jha as part of its CSR activities.
The teachers who received the Shailesh Matiyani State teachers’ award include Maheshanand, assistant teacher from Government upper primary school, Pauri; Bansidhar Gaur, primary teacher from Government primary school Kalimath, Rudraprayag; Dhyan Singh, assistant teacher from GUPS, Molda, Uttarkashi; Kalpana Bisht from GUPS, Jaintanwala, Dehradun; Bhagchand lal Keshwani, assistant teacher from GUPS, Pundiyani, Chamoli, Kusum Uniyal, assistant teacher from GUPS, lwedan, Tehri; Sarla Baindale, primary teacher from Government Junior High School, Roorkee cantonment; Geeta Joshi, assistant teacher from GGJHS, Jainoli, Almora; Sahanabani, assistant teacher from GPS, Naudhar, Bageshwar; Deepak Singh Fartyal, assistant teacher from GHMS, Pratapur, Khatima; Kamalchandra Bhatt, primary teacher from GJHS, Bheemtal, Nainital; Pushkar Ram Tamta, GJHS, Munakot, Pithoragarh; Dr Sanjeev Sundriyal, principal of Government High School, Rajbat, Pauri; Raghuveer Singh Panwar, lecturer from GIC, Ramashram, Rudraprayag; Rajpal Singh Panwar, lecturer from GIC Gangoli, Uttarkashi; Jyoti Prakash Jaguri, lecturer from Gorkha Military Inter College, Dehradun; Darshan Singh Panwar, assistant teacher, GIC Gopeshwar, Chamoli; Alakh Narayan Dubey, assistant teacher from GHS, Aagar, Tehri; Amar Singh Bisht, assistant teacher from GHS Panghat, Almora; Nandan Singh Alimyan, lecturer from GIC, Gagarigol, Bageshwar; Dr Indra Sen Yadav, assistant teacher from GIC, Manch, Champawat; Premlata Arya, principal of GGIC, Dauliya, Haldwani, Nainita; lakshmi Baldiya, lecturer from GGIC ,Acholi, Pithoragarh and Dr Sheetal Mishra, lecturer from GIC Shantipuri, Rudrapur, Udham Singh Nagar; Sovendra Singh Chauhan from DIET, Badkot, Uttarkashi and lakshmi Prasad Jaguri, principal of Sri Saraswati Sanskrit School, Jogath, Uttarakshi.