Ronita Torcato
The Maharashtra government is improving the quality of schools through various schemes, since its priority is to maintain the best quality institutions, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said at the prize distribution ceremony of the Mukhyamantri Majhi Shukla, Sundar Shukla Abhiyan.
Representatives from the winning schools competing in Mukhyamantri Majhi Shukla, Sundar Shukla Abhiyan, which promotes personality development, were felicitated with certificates, mementos and hefty cheques at the event which was held in the grand J J Bhabha Hall of the NCPA in Mumbai on Monday.
Chief Minister Shinde said “schools are the temples of knowledge in life. Schools shape the lives of students and the nation. Parents give birth and teachers make life. Therefore, the role of Gurujan is unique.” He thanked the Central government for giving “elite status” to the Marathi language.
School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar elaborated on various measures taken for the improvement of the School Education Department. Thes include the recruitment of 30,000 teachers,a substantial increase in scholarships for students, free uniforms and the implementation of a phased subsidy.
The awards included handsome cash prizes:
- Rs 51 lakhs for the first ranked school at the state level, Rs.31 lakhs for the second ranked school and Rs.21 lakhs for the third ranked school.
- Rs 21 lakhs to the first ranked school at the divisional level, Rs.15 lakhs to the second ranked school and Rs.11 lakhs to the third ranked school.
- Rs 11 lakhs to the first ranked school at the district level, Rs.5 lakhs to the second ranked school and Rs.3 lakhs to the third ranked school.
- At the taluka level, the top school was given prize money of Rs.3 lakh, second place winner got Rs.2 lakh and third placed was given Rs.1 lakh along with a certificate and memento.
The State Level Award winning institution is the Zilla Parishad Adarsh Prathamik School Dhanore, District Pune; the second prize was bagged by the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation Rajshree Shahu Maharaj Vidyalaya School No. 55; the third prize was awarded to the Jawaharlal Nehru Nagar Parishad Higher Primary School Ramnagar, District Gadchiroli.
Principal Secretary I. A Kundan , School Education Commissioner Suraj Mandre and other top officials were present on the occasion.