Knowledge needed in modern times should reach students and teachers should be alert to this, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was speaking after performing the inauguration of 68 school buildings that have been completed and laying the stone for 33 school buildings here on Monday.
The Chief Minister said public schools had been facing closure at one time, but the government had succeeded in providing them with basic infrastructure. It decided to protect public education and took up the general education rejuvenation mission with people’s participation. It became more than a government programme when people from all sections became a part of the mission. The public education sector in the State was a model for others today.
Besides building construction as part of infrastructure development, academic standards also improved through the public education rejuvenation mission. The entire public education sector in the State benefited from this, winning laurels within the country and internationally too.
However, those working in the education sector should make sure that these achievements are improved upon further. As development of the sector meant improvement of academic standards of students, there should be no compromise on this.
The Chief Minister said nearly 10 lakh children had newly joined public schools in the State in the past seven years. Nearly 1,000 schools had become high-tech. The State had come in for praise in a UNICEF report on digital online education. Steps were taken to build nearly 1,000 school buildings using Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) funds. A special project for basic infrastructure development was under way at the primary level and would be extended till the higher secondary level in phases, he said.
Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty said investment to the tune of ₹5,000 crore had been made in the public education sector in the past seven-and-a-half years. A.A. Rahim, MP; and MLAs V. Joy and V. Sasi, and district panchayat president D. Suresh Kumar were present.
Of the 68 new school buildings completed, two were built with assistance of ₹5 crore from KIIFB, three school buildings using ₹3 crore, and 26 buildings using ₹1 crore from KIIFB, and 37 school buildings using Plan fund and other funds.
