IEP New Delhi, February 11
Welcoming the first batch of 36 Principals who returned back after training at Singapore, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said that this paradigm shift of equipping the Principals with best global teaches practices has heralded a new era of education revolution in the state. Interacting with the Principals after their return in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister said that the enhanced and enriched expertise of the Principals will help in grooming the future of the students in view of their interests. He said that it is a red letter day in the history of the state as these Principals will act as a catalyst in imparting quality education to the students. Bhagwant Mann said that the state government has started this program with an aim to rejuvenate the education system in the state on one hand and to ensure a bright future for the students on the other. The Chief Minister said that this first of its kind initiative by the state government is part of the State scheme for teachers’ foreign training cleared by Cabinet. Speaking about this unique initiative, he said that when a new policy is introduced then the voice of dissent crops up but he will never hesitate to take any decision which is in the interests of the state. Bhagwant Mann said that he is well aware of the basic problems of teachers as he is the son of a teacher adding that his government will utilise the services of teachers only for teaching and not for any other work. The Chief Minister said that he had got a letter from the Union government to depute teachers in census duty but he categorically refused the same and asked them to deploy educated youngsters. He said that it will help in job opportunities for youth on one hand and ensure quality education to our students on the other. Quoting a proverb that experience is the comb that Nature gives us after we are bald, Bhagwant Mann said that we are trying our best to take advantage from the experience of others because Punjab had lagged behind in this sector due to callousness of previous governments. Exhorting the teachers to become role models for students, the Chief Minister said that this program aims at enhancing the professional skills of the teaching fraternity, so that they can deliver the best quality education to the students. Bhagwant Mann said that this initiative will open doors of quality education for the students of government schools thereby enabling them to compete with their convent educated peers and excel in life. He reiterated that teachers are the nation builders who can uplift the level of education, so the state government has decided to upgrade their teaching skills by ensuring quality training to them. The Chief Minister said that as a part of this guarantee the first batch of 36 Government School Principals had gone to Singapore on February 4 for professional training. He said that these Principals during their stay at Singapore had participated in a Professional Teacher Training seminar from February 6-10. Bhagwant Mann said that after the completion of training this first batch has returned back today. The Chief Minister further said that this training program will further widen the horizon of the teachers by equipping them with state-of-the-art teaching practices, leadership skills, creation of teaching-learning materials and audio-visual technology to meet objectives of Education in the post-Pandemic world, Essentials of Strategic Management, Shaping School Culture, Building Teachers’ Professional Capital, Curriculum Leadership, Mentoring, and Lesson Observation Skills, Innovation in Teaching and Learning and Effective Communication. He envisioned that this path breaking initiative will prove to be a milestone for reforming the education system in the state. Bhagwant Mann said that the day is not far when with these efforts Punjab will soon become a front runner state in the field of education adding that this ambitious program will continue in the coming days too. Addressing the gathering, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal envisioned that this knowledge sharing interaction will prove fruitful in the coming times adding that this will become a regular feature in future. Sharing his experiences to rejuvenate the education sector, Kejriwal said that he is a votary to imbibe positive energy in Principals and teachers through such programs besides laying thrust on building and upgrading infrastructure. He said that when we delivered results then people showed interest in enrolling their wards in government schools by leaving the private schools. The Delhi Chief Minister said that it is it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that the reformatory work in health and education which was done in Delhi in years was accomplished by Punjab merely in 10 months under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann. He also slammed some people for creating undue obstacles in way of Delhi government to implement such pro poor initiatives in the national capital also. However, Kejriwal said that various designs of these people will never succeed and this pro poor initiative will soon be implemented in Delhi. Advocating international training for teachers, Arvind Kejriwal said that global learning experience is the need of hour to groom the students for future challenges. The Delhi Chief Minister said that this unique endeavour of Punjab government will go a long way in reforming education system in the state. He said that a system has now evolved and the day is not far when we will see that teachers of Singapore will come to Punjab for the training. Kejriwal also complimented Punjab Chief Minister for taking the path breaking initiative to transform education system in state. On the occasion the Principals also shared their enriched experiences at Singapore. They lauded the historic initiative taken by the state government for enhancing their skills. They said that the day is not far when this step will transform the destiny of the students especially from the weaker and underprivileged sections of society. Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia, Punjab Education Minister Harjot Bains and others.
