Chandigarh, August 3- Taking the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign of Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi forward, Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal announced the opening of 11 new colleges, on the auspicious occasion of Raksha Bandhan. With this, Haryana has become the first state in the country to have a college within a radius of 15 km.
Mr. Manohar Lal announced the setting up of these colleges at a function organized at Government Post Graduate (PG) College, Sector-1, Panchkula today. He also planted saplings and urged the people to plant trees so as to protect the environment.
Stating that imparting of education is a great gift, he said that 97 new colleges have been opened in the last five years in the state whereas in the last 48 years only 75 colleges were opened. He said that the new National Education Policy has also been announced recently which aims to enhance the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in higher education to 50 percent by the year 2030, which presently stands at 32 percent. He expressed confidence that through the collaborative efforts of the state government along with non-government organizations and the people, Haryana will achieve this goal. The New Education Policy offers the option to choose the subject as per their interest, to students from Class VI, which is the highlight of this policy.
Mr. Manohar Lal said that the country's first Skill Development University has been opened in the state in Dudhola, Palwal district and has been named in the honour of Lord Vishwakarma. Presently, thousands of youth are pursuing skill education in this University. He said that the New Education Policy will be effective in achieving the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’. This Policy will bring about a drastic transformation in the field of education and will be job oriented too, he added.
Mr. Manohar Lal said that this programme was initially to announce 10 colleges, but on the request of the Minister of State for Woman & Child Development, Mrs. Kamlesh Dhanda 11 colleges will be opened in the state, including one in village Rajod in Kalayat constituency. This is a special gift of Raksha Bandhan for the women of the state. He said that at present a college has been set up in every 15 kilometre radius in the state. The State Government aims to set up a college in every 10 kilometre radius. He urged the people of the state that if there are no colleges within a radius of 15 kilometres then it should be brought to the notice of the State Government so that appropriate action can be taken.
Mr. Manohar Lal said that on the lines of ‘Sabka Saath-Sabka Vikas’, every constituency from Panchkula to Nuh and Jagadhri to Dabwali has a college. He said that at present there are 161 government colleges, which fall in one constituency or the other. However, it is surprising that when Congress was in power not a single college was opened in Baroda constituency. Thus, two colleges have been announced for Baroda.
He said to ensure that the public representatives who contest for the Panchayati Raj Institutions should be educated; for that he had even knocked at the doors of the courts. As a result of which in the year 2016, despite 33 percent reservation for women, 43 percent were elected. He said that 50 percent seats will be reserved for women candidates in the upcoming Panchayati Raj elections.
Referring to the menace of female feoticide he said that the 'Beti Bachao-Beti Padhao' campaign was launched to combat this problem in the state. Nurtured with efforts of the government this campaign made a difference and bore fruitful results with the cooperation of people. At present the gender-ratio has reached 923 which was merely 871 earlier.
Mr. Manohar Lal further said that conservation of trees was important for saving environment. He watched the Vrikshbandhan documentary prepared by the Department of Higher Education, Haryana on this occasion and later also launched its app. Any student can plant a sapling and upload a photograph of themselves with their sapling on this app.
The Chief Minister was presented with Swami Vivekananda's book 'I am India'. Haryana Vidhan Sabha Speaker, Mr. Gian Chand Gupta said that today is a historic day for Panchkula. Until now there was no college in the inaccessible mountainous region of Morni Hills. Today the Chief Minister has given a big gift to this area. Earlier, Haryana's first English medium senior secondary school was set up in Panchkula. Apart from this, five English medium primary schools were also opened in the district. Due to the opening of these schools, the graph of education in Panchkula has increased and the results of Class X and XII have also got better as compared to previous years.
Also speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Mr. Rattan Lal Kataria said that significant work was being done in Haryana under the Nal se Jal Scheme of the Central Government. He said that this is an ambitious plan of Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi. Under this scheme, tap water will be delivered to every house by the year 2024.Haryana is already ahead in this scheme. The Chief Minister deserves congratulations for this. He added that the 11 colleges which were announced today will prove to be milestones in the field of women's education.
Haryana Education Minister, Mr. Kanwar Pal said that a plan had been prepared to open 1000 play schools in the state even before the arrival of New Education Policy. Apart from this, under the Mid-day meal scheme, milk will now be provided to students 6 days a week in the schools of the state. He said that Haryana has set an example by conducting online classes during COVID-19 and Haryana is among the leading states after Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat. He said that focus is being laid on improving the health and education of children. Along with higher education, 98 Sanskriti Model Schools are also being opened in the state.
The programme was also addressed by Principal Secretary to Government, Haryana, Higher Education Department, Mr. Ankur Gupta, Director General, Higher Education, Haryana, Mr. Ajit Balaji Joshi and Principal, Dr. Archana Mishra. Girl students also tied Rakhi to the Chief Minister and other distinguished guests. Among those present at the occasion were Deputy Commissioner, Panchkula, Mr. Mukesh Kumar Ahuja, Commissioner of Police Mr. Saurabh Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohit Handa, and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Panchkula, and Mr. Mahavir Singh.
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Haryana Chief Minister, Mr. Manohar Lal has announced the opening of 11 new colleges today at Morni Hills in Panchkula, Isharwal in Bhiwani, Goriwala in Sirsa, Firozpur Jhirka in Nuh, Chhatar in Jind, Ladna Chaku and Rajaund in Kaithal. New colleges will be opened at Pratap Nagar in Yamunanagar, Agroha in Hisar and Bhainswal Kalan and Baroda in Sonepat district.