Punjab: Another batch of school principals go for training to Singapore

Chandigarh, Mar 7 (PTI) Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said his government is sending government school principals abroad with an aim to exposing educators to global teaching practices and further strengthening the state's public education system.

He said this after seeing off the eighth batch of 30 government school principals for training at the Principal Academy in Singapore.

"Our government's goal is to ensure that the children of Punjab receive world-class, quality education. In line with this vision, we are continuously providing international-level training opportunities to our teachers and principals, so that they can learn new and modern methods and further strengthen Punjab's education system.

Our goal is not just to build schools, but to create an education system that empowers every child in Punjab to dream big and achieve them," Mann said here.

To provide world-class exposure to heads of government schools, the eighth batch of 30 principals is leaving for training at the Principal Academy in Singapore from March 8 to 14.

So far eight batches comprising 234 principals and education officers have been sent to Singapore for training, said Mann.

He said a transparent selection process has been adopted for the programme, after which verification of the selected principals was carried out by the district education officers.

"During the training, these principals are acquainted with modern teaching practices prevalent abroad. After their return, they share these practices with students and colleagues so that our students get exposure to global standards of education," Mann said.

This "path-breaking" initiative is rejuvenating the education system of the state and these teachers are acting as agents of change by ensuring quality education for students.

Such initiatives help in upscaling expertise of teachers and ensure that they are well-versed with modern teaching methods so that students can compete at the international level, he said.

Expressing satisfaction over the performance of students, he said, "It is a matter of immense pride that Punjab has ranked first in the National Achievement Survey conducted by the Government of India, surpassing even Kerala." Students are also being provided specialised coaching for competitive examinations such as Armed Forces preparation, NEET, JEE, CLAT and NIFT.

Around 300 students from Schools of Eminence and other government schools have qualified for JEE Mains, JEE Advanced and NEET examinations.

The AAP-led Punjab government is giving major thrust to strengthening education in government schools, he noted. PTI CHS NB NB