DW BUREAU / Hoshiarpur

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday announced filling of all vacant posts of Punjabi teachers in government schools on a priority to further promote the language. Addressing a gathering during a state-level function to mark teacher's day, the chief minister said it was the need of the hour for further promoting the Punjabi language.

The state government is duty-bound to promote the mother tongue of every Punjabi and no stone will be left unturned for it, he said.

Mann also exhorted the students to speak and write the Punjabi language so that they remain acquainted with their heritage.

The chief minister said vacancies in a large number of posts in the education department were affecting studies.

In consonance with the state government's commitment to make Punjab a frontrunner state in education, his dispensation has already taken "path-breaking initiatives" to give a boost to the sector. For the first time in the history of Punjab, a mega parent-teachers' meeting was organised in government schools across the state, Mann said.

Asserting that he is there to resolve all the issues faced by the teaching fraternity, Mann said that as the son of a teacher, he knew the problems of teachers very well and added he was duty bound to resolve all of them. The state exchequer belongs to the people and every single penny will be judiciously utilised for the wellbeing of every strata of society, he said.

The government is laying a major thrust on complete overhaul of the education system. It is regularly sending school principals and teachers to eminent institutes within the country and abroad for updating their expertise, Mann said.

The motive is to ensure that teachers can learn about the advanced practices in the education sector across the globe, he said.

Schools have been equipped with the latest technology to impart quality education, the 'Schools of Eminence' have transformed the destiny of the state's people. As many as 158 students of government schools have, for the first time, cleared the coveted joint entrance examination, Mann said. This is just the beginning as more such results will be visible in the coming days for which the Punjab government is making strenuous efforts, he added.
(editor@dailyworld.in)