In a fresh development, Pushkar Singh Dhami, the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand has inaugurated ‘Bal Vatikas’, an initiative under the National Education Policy (NEP) at anganwadi kendras across the state. With this, Uttarakhand has become the first state to implement the National Education Policy in India. The state has initiated the process of implementing the said policy to beef up its pre-primary education system.
Reportedly, the ‘Bal Vatikas’ will be set up at 4,457 anganwadi kendras in the state and those will stand equal with the nursery classes of a private school.
Dhami, at the event, said the implementation of the NEP policy is a fresh start to a culture-conducive education system in the country where it will focus on the overall personality development of the student. He said, “The NEP will lay the foundation of a strong and bright future of youngsters.”
The CM also inaugurated an NCERT building there on the day, while ensuring that all such projects being inaugurated by him will get completed during his tenure only. “No project will be left hanging. We will ensure that every project whose foundation stone is being laid sees the light of day,” he said.
The CM also talked about the importance of starting the process of drafting a Uniform Civil Code (UCC), which he promised ahead of the state assembly polls held earlier this year.
“After giving a go-ahead to the proposal at our very first cabinet meeting, we have already constituted a committee headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai to prepare a draft of the UCC which will be implemented after taking all stakeholders into confidence,” Dhami said.
Further, the CM also said his government initiatives are aligned with the objective of making Uttarakhand a leading state by 2025. The year, when the state will be completing 25 years of its formation.
The Minister also said his department has taken the initiative of showcasing Uttarakhand as an example for other states. He said, all departments in the state have been instructed to make at least two outstanding achievements by that year–those can inspire other states to follow as well.
Present at the occasion, Dhan Singh Rawat, Education Minister, Uttarakhand spoke about how NEP replaces ‘English as the medium of instruction for higher education’ as an education policy in India (Macaulay system of education) which was followed in the country for decades.
“It offers children an opportunity to pursue choice-based education. They can now study the subjects of their choice in the language they are conversant with. By 2030, NEP will be fully implemented in Uttarakhand,” Rawat said.
