Expressing satisfaction over the implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) programme in Punjab, the Government of India has emphasised the need for covering more children of the migrants under the literacy programme. A three-member team of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has visited Mansa and Jalandhar districts last month and inspected the implementation of the SSA programme. Disclosing this in a review committee meeting in Delhi, Punjab Schools Education Director General Krishan Kumar said that all efforts were being made to have a maximum number of children of the migrants in the government schools in the state. 'But the problem with them was that they were not permanent residents which hampered the programme,' said Krishan Kumar.
The HRD Ministry team also pointed out that more private schools were being opened in Punjab and this was not a healthy trend. Kumar maintained that efforts were being made by the Education Department to improve the standards of education in the government schools and there was a feeling that the standards of education in these schools were on the better side. He revealed that the Punjab government had spent INR 203 crore on the implementation of the SSA in the state so far, out of INR 265 crore sanctioned for this purpose. The Director General said that under the SSA, 356 primary school buildings, 14,996 additional classrooms, 125 block resource centres, 1,168 cluster resource centres, 534 headmaster rooms, 17,491 toilets and drinking water facilities had been provided. Padho Punjab programme had been implemented by the state government under the SSA programme to improve the quality of education among the primary schools, he informed. According to the Kumar, math and science kits are being provided to all primary and upper primary schools to help the students learn difficult topics of maths and science.
