Tripura to launch Vidya Pravesh scheme to boost elementary education: CM Saha

Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration of the District Institution for Education and Training (DIET) at Jalebasa in the Panisagar subdivision of North Tripura district, Saha, who also holds the education portfolio, said, “We previously had four DIETs and now with this, we have five. A society’s success depends on the education of its people. Education is one of our priority departments. Just yesterday, we held a meeting to identify some of our weaknesses, and I appealed to all the educationists who attended the meeting for advice on improving education. There is no alternative to education, and there is no end to knowledge.”

Saha was a maxillofacial surgeon for decades before becoming active in politics.

Ever since it came to power in the state in 2018, the BJP-led government has been vocal about a major overhaul of the education system with a stress on quality. This was in stark contrast to the retrenchment of 10,323 schoolteachers as per an order from the Tripura High Court, later upheld by the Supreme Court, owing to a faulty recruitment policy followed in the Left Front era.

Citing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s initiatives, Saha said, “He has introduced the National Education Policy, which we have also started implementing in our education department so that students can keep up with the rest of the nation.”

To underscore the Government’s emphasis on education, Saha said the Centre had allocated Rs 1, 12,899 crore for it in 2023-24.

Citing the efforts to match central educational reforms, Saha said, “The government has a plan for this. PM e-Vidya, related to digital/online/on-air education, has also been launched. The DISHA scheme has been implemented as well. The main aim of the DIET is to provide better training to teachers.”

Saha also said the state government is working to modernise the educational infrastructure. “I always stress the importance of infrastructure as well as manpower. Recently, we inaugurated a new school building in Gandacherra, opened a new school building in the south district and inaugurated a girls’ hostel in Sonamura.”