Jammu: Minister for Education Syed Mohammad Altaf Bukhari Thursday chaired a high-level meeting to review and finalize the road map conceived to revamp and fill critical gaps in school education sector.
The meeting, attended by senior functionaries of school Education Department, including Secretary, Farooq Ahmed Shah, Additional Secretary Mussarat-ul-Islam, Director school Education Jammu, Ravinder Singh, Director SSA A R Waar, Director RMSA Tufail Matoo and other senior functionaries discussed in detail requirements for staff, infrastructure development and the scope to meet these under the present scheme of the things and additional requirements. The meeting also discussed the resource requirement for meeting pending liabilities and streamlining the payment of salaries of teachers, Masters and other staff falling under different schemes.
The Minister asked heads of each wing to consolidate and cross check the details before the final draft of the road map is submitted to the chief Minister. He asked the officers to present correct picture and come up with updated account books. “Recheck the compiled figures and consolidate the figures obtained after the audit exercise” the Minister said adding that it would be a great service from our side to the state if the education system is streamlined once for all.
Pertinently, the department of school education and its allied wings had taken up an exhaustive exercise to identify gaps in infrastructure, teaching and non-teaching staff requirement and implementation of reform interventions in the school education system.
The Minister said government’s first priority is to equip all schools with bare minimum infrastructure and revamp the system by making effective corrections at all levels.
The Minister took a thorough review of the data compiled by the concerned officers about the status/ achievements, expenditure accounts, salary and other liabilities under flagship schemes and the requirements for consolidation of school Infrastructure.
Stressing on the need to approach the problems through a correction mode, the Minister asked the department not to hide things and pave the way for enforcing improvements where ever required. “We need to stop pushing the wrongs of past under the carpet. There is need to correct these and start afresh” the Minister said.
The Minister further asked the authorities to use all means to remove bottlenecks hampering the construction of school, hostel, DIET, Auditorium and other buildings, besides reconstruction and up-gradation works. He said the government’s goal is to provide own buildings to all the schools, with water, toilet and sanitation facilities.
