DW BUREAU / Shimla

Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday launched the Mukhyamantri Bal Paushtik Aahar Yojana to provide nutritious food to children in government-run schools. Launching the initiative in Hamirpur, he said it would complement the existing midday meal scheme and was targeted at students from nursery to Class 8 in 15,181 schools.

Under the scheme, schoolchildren will be provided boiled eggs or fruits once a week. "Currently, about 5,34,293 (5.34 lakh) children are benefitting from the midday meal scheme. They will now receive additional nutrition under the new initiative," Sukhu said. "The schools will source fresh fruits from local markets based on the children's preferences," he added.

The state government has allocated an additional Rs 12.75 crore for the scheme in the current fiscal. Sukhu further said about 17,510 primary school teachers would receive tablets as part of the government's efforts to promote digitisation in educational and administrative processes. "This initiative aims to modernise teaching methods, improve access to digital educational resources and simplify administrative tasks," he said. "By equipping teachers with these tools, there will be improvement in the overall quality of education. Additionally, the tablets will allow the teachers to participate in online training programmes, further enhancing their professional development," the chief minister added.

Sukhu also hit out at the previous BJP dispensation, claiming the state fell to 18th place in quality education rankings during its government.

The current dispensation is making efforts to improve academic standards in the state, the senior Congress leader said.

"Since coming to power, the state government has taken significant steps to enhance the quality of education," he added. Sukhu said his government was working on three levels to improve education.

"There will be no shortage of funds in providing quality education. Teachers are being sent on exposure visits abroad and, in the first phase, 217 teachers visited Singapore. Additionally, to strengthen infrastructure, Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools are being established in every assembly constituency," Sukhu said.
(editor@dailyworld.in)