DW BUREAU / SHIMLA

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today flagged off a delegation of 70 teachers from across Himachal Pradesh for an educational visit to Singapore. The group comprises teachers from all categories across the state. The Chief Minister said that the state government has taken historic steps to strengthen and modernize the education sector, with the initiative of providing global exposure to teachers. He said that travel broadens knowledge and enhances experience. In a significant development, the state government has signed an agreement with the renowned Principals Academy in Singapore to provide world-class training to teachers. This initiative was expected to greatly improve their knowledge, skills and teaching methodologies, thereby directly benefiting students and transforming the education system into a more inclusive, effective, and modern framework.

Sh. Sukhu said that the present state government was committed to bring continuous and positive changes in the education sector. By the year 2032, Himachal Pradesh would become the best state in the country in providing quality education.

He further said that the transformational initiatives introduced by the government in the past two years have begun to yield positive results. According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) released in January 2025, children in Himachal Pradesh demonstrated the highest reading proficiency in the country. On several parameters, Himachal Pradesh has emerged as a top-performing state in school education. This progress is also reflected in state-level sample surveys, which have shown significant improvement in student learning levels. The Chief Minister said that there was a need to revise school curricula and suggested the introduction of general knowledge as a subject. He said the state would soon adopt an education policy that ensures holistic development of students. Apart from these administrative reforms, innovative efforts were being made to enhance the quality of education, including improvements in the transfer process. He praised the competence of teachers serving in government schools and said a study would be conducted to understand the reasons behind the declining enrolment in these institutions. Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the present state government has initiated several key schemes for strengthening education sector and providing quality education to the children. He said that schemes like Mukhyamantri Sukhashraya Yojana, Mukhyamantri Sukh Shiksha Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding Schools, and centres of excellence have been started and these schemes would strengthen the education system of the state.

He expressed confidence that this educational visit would serve as a source of inspiration for the teachers, who would return with enriched experiences to share with their students.

On the occasion, the Chief Minister presented educational kits to the teachers departing for Singapore. Education Minister Rohit Thakur said that so far, 267 teachers have been sent to Singapore under this initiative and the programme would continue in the future. He said that this was not ordinary trip, but a visionary step aimed at transforming education system of the state. He said that quality-based training would bring about fundamental changes in the teaching-learning process. The Education Minister said that apart from teachers, students of government schools have also been sent on international educational tours to expand their learning horizons. He said that these visionary decisions of the state government were bringing impactful changes in the education sector of the state. The establishment of the cluster school system has enabled the efficient pooling of resources.

He extended his best wishes to the teachers and urged them to contribute actively towards making Himachal Pradesh the best-performing state in the field of education.

(editor@dailyworld.in)