category Regional, chandigarh, , tags Regional, chandigarh, , DW BUREAU chandiGarh Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal has ushered in a transformative era in the education sector over the past nine years, fostering an educational environment that now shines through the quality of education in government schools. Today, students from government schools are achieving remarkable success in competitive examinations, bringing pride not only to their families but also to the entire state. Recognizing the pivotal role of education in shaping lives, Chief Minister has prioritized girls education. Following the ideals of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, who advocated for the freedom and education of girls, Manohar Lal has taken bold policy decisions to establish schools and colleges at minimal distances. In Haryana, there is now a school every three kilometers and a college within every 20 kilometers. This strategic move has not only reduced the dropout rate among girls but has also fueled their aspirations for higher education. In 21st century, as information technology revolutionizes various sectors, education sector has not been left untouched. Chief Minister recognized this challenge and introduced several initiatives to provide smart education to needy and underprivileged children in the state. He already implemented the concept of smart classrooms, as outlined in the National Education Policy-2020. Furthermore, he launched the ambitious e-learning scheme, distributing 5.50 lakh tablets with 2 GB of internet data free of cost to students from 9th to 12th grade and PGT teachers in government schools. The Chief Minister emphasizes the need to integrate moral education into daily education, fostering a sense of culture from a young age. To achieve this, he has set a target to fully implement the National Education Policy-2020 in the state by 2025. The policy also promotes the concept of Play-Way Schools to provide practical knowledge to children below the age of three. Haryana has made significant progress in this direction, with the Chief Minister inaugurated 4000 Play-Way Schools in the state and setting a goal of establishing an additional 4000 such schools. Under the National Education Policy-2020, pre-vocational education has been initiated from the 6th to 8th grades in 1074 schools, and 124 PM Shree Vidyalayas are set to launch this year. (editor dailyworld.in)