Education is the most powerful weapon to change the world. Aristotle once said, educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all. Education must not be restricted to just bookish knowledge but it should aim at skill training and developing brains. Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in schools. Intelligence plus character building should be the goal of true education. A Tibetan proverb says, “A child without education is like a bird without wings.”
Education is important for the development of today and tomorrow. The real development of a state/country is measured by the development of education there. Well, keeping that in mind Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Smt. Vasundhara Raje has always put her best foot forward in improving the education quality in her state contributing to the development of the state and the country. With great efforts, far-sightedness, plans, programmes and schemes by CM Raje and her Team Rajasthan, the state is certainly emerging out as a precedent for other states in the country.
“The state’s efforts and initiative to improve the level of education have been commended at national level. For the first time, enrollment in state schools increased by a record margin of 15 lakh. In education sector, Rajasthan had become a model for several other states,” CM Raje said.
Rajasthan students have brought many laurels to the state and the country and all thanks to the teachers and the every-day improving education system in the state. CM Raje soon realised the need of quality education in the state. When she took the responsibility of the state around 2.5 years back, the situations at the government schools in the state was not up to the mark. Some schools lacked proper skilled teachers, some sanitation facilities and some access to clean drinking water. The previous governments were at fault. CM Raje then took the initiatives at improving such conditions and providing the children of the state with the facilities, quality education, proper mid day meals and other services they deserved. Raje claimed, “Government schools has outperformed the private ones in examination results. All that could not be done in past 60 years in education have been done in last two years.” Some of those crucial steps that were taken by the state government include the following:
- 132 Vivekanand Model Schools with all the modern facilities.
- Aadarsh Vidhyalya at every Gram Panchayat in the state.
- Under Aadarsh Vidhyalya more than 5000 Secondary Schools were transformed and upgraded to High Schools in the state.
- Utkrasht Vidhyalay in every village for students from class 1 to 5/8.
- More than 200 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Avasiya Vidhyalya for more than 20000 girls.
- More than 151 Sharde Chatravas in the state with around 9400 girl students.
- More than 83000 teachers were promoted
- Sanitation, cleanliness, clean drinking water and other facilities improved in schools in the state.
- Vocational training in more than 670 schools.
- Live Satellite classrooms in more than 2000 schools.
- ICT labs in over 7025 schools.
- Shala Darpan Portal.
- Shala Darshan Portal.
- Digital content over Raj-E-Gyan portal.
- Improved mid day meals.
- Laptops were provided to more than 43174 excelling students of the state.
- Bicycles to over 5.36 lakh girl students, transportation vouchers to more than 45000 students and scooters to almost 1200 girl students of the state.
“Now, at panchayat level, 9,895 Adarsh Senior Secondary Schools are providing education from class 1 to 12 and another 9,610 ‘Utkrisht schools’ are providing education from classes 1 to 8,” CM Raje said. Knowledge brings the opportunity to bring a difference. Rajasthan was infamous for not educating the girls of the state. Breaking all such assumptions and believes, CM Raje initiated some schemes only to promote the girl education in the state. These include:
Mukhyamantri Hamari Beti Yojana: Under this initiative, CM Raje facilitates 2 girls of a district who comes in the merit list of the 10th standard examination and 1 girl from a BPL family with a financial help of 2.25 lakh rupees each along with training facilities such as private coaching, professional training, sports training etc.
Rajshri Yojana: Mukhyamanti Rajshri Yojana will work to enhance the conditions of girl child. With the help of financial and educative tools, girl children of Rajasthan will be brought up in a better way. Motive is to strike off the stats which say not every girl child in Rajasthan gets access to basic education. Right to education is what its main agenda and to spread its righteousness through efficient awareness is the duty of the team working for this scheme.
Apni Beti Yojana: With her APNI BETI YOJANA, CM Raje directed the legislators, magistrates, collectors and people with reputed jobs to adopt two daughters each and give them the life of un-compromised sustenance.
Education is the movement from darkness to light. Vasundhara Raje has certainly taken the charts up with the number of students getting enrolled in various schools all over the state increasing with every year. Education in Rajasthan with such crucial steps is not only making the future of the state and the country better but also is setting examples for the other states.
