School education and PWD Minister Brijmohan Agrawal has distributed ad hoc grant cheques worth Rs 1.19 crore to 106 government schools in the five districts of Bilaspur revenue division.
Agrawal said that along with the country the Right to Education Act had been implemented in Chhattisgarh also. The registration of private schools which were not making good education arrangements could be cancelled, the he added.
He said, Rs 6 crore financial aid has been given to more than 500 schools since last two years. Many institutions were running education as business, he said and asked them not to make education as a means of income.
Agrawal said that education is the medium of development and if people are educated they themselves would march towards progress and would come forward for taking the benefits of various public welfare schemes run by the Government. He urged the gathering to make Chhattisgarh a developed and educated State.
The Minister said, “Chhattisgarh is included among the advanced States of the country, but the people here are poor. Many people are unable to provide higher education to their children. We have to take pledge that no child is deprived of education.” Agrawal said that to promote education the State Government has been giving midday meal, uniform, textbooks and cycles in schools. The objective of Saraswati Shishu Mandir was to promote education.
The school education minister said that the rural people should have attachment towards school, the need of the hour is to develop this feeling among them. If people of the villages are aware of education, they would never bank of the Government.
Agrawal said that the amount being given should be utilised for creating a better educational atmosphere, so that children might get a better future. Chhattisgarh State Tribal Development Commission president Dr Krishnamurthy Bandhi also addressed the programme.
While giving information about the ad hoc grant amount being given to private schools, Bilaspur District Education Officer Hiradhar said that Rs 26.50 lakh has been given to 26 schools in Bilaspur district, Rs 3 lakh to 3 schools in Raigarh, Rs 19 lakh to 18 schools in Korba, Rs 53 lakh to 52 schools in Janjgir-Champa and Rs 8 lakh to 7 schools in Mungeli district.