The State Institute for School Leadership, Educational Planning and Management (SISLEP) in Dharwad will be given the crucial responsibility of implementing the New National Education Policy in the State, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S. Suresh Kumar has said.
Speaking after visiting SISLEP situated on the premises of the District Institute of Education and Training (DIET) in Dharwad and reviewing the activities of the institute on Thursday, Mr. Suresh Kumar said that the New National Education Policy would promote development of analytical skills and new ideas.
The Minister said that SISLEP would have greater responsibility in developing school leadership and educational projects that would be simple, moral, responsible, responsive and transparent.
He said that he would again visit the institute during the training programmes for teachers.
He said that discussions were being held across the nation about the New National Education Policy which was submitted by the Kasturirangan-led committee after five years of elaborate study. The new policy would promote new views and new inventions, he said.
Earlier, Director of SISLEP B.S. Raghuveer spoke about the activities of the institute. Additional Commissioner of Public Instruction Major Siddalingayya Hiremath, Deputy Director of Public Instruction Mohankumar Hanchate and other officials were present.
‘Vidyagama helpful’
Mr. Suresh Kumar, who then visited Salakinakoppa and Baada villages in the district, told presspersons that the “Vidyagama” programme was aimed at protecting children from COVID-19 and also for maintaining continuity in school education programme. The programme would help in checking child marriages and child labour in the villages, he said.
The Minister said that as the reopening of schools was likely get delayed further, the “Vidyagama” programme had been launched to maintain contact with children and also ensure continuity in their education. “Bringing children back to school will be a difficult task, if they are kept away from schools for long. The programme will help them in keeping contact with schools,” he said. The Minister also appreciated the work done by teachers in Dharwad district.
Warning
Replying to a query, the Minister said that there were complaints about some private schools collecting “additional fee in the name of coronavirus” and there was no such provision to collect any such fee. “If any private educational institution has collected such a fee, then legal action will be taken against it,” he added.
To another query, he said that private educational institutions should safeguard the interests of teachers and other non-teaching staff working with them.
Interaction
During his visit to schools, the Minister asked children to sing the State anthem, recite multiplication tables and asked them several questions.
Expressing happiness over the handwriting of a few children, the Minister also asked them about coronavirus prevention and their opinion on reopening schools. On the way to Baada village, the Minister alighted from his car and boarded a vehicle meant for journalists for an informal discussion.