Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Wednesday felicitated two topper girls from each district of his constituency in the Class 10 board exams by presenting them with laptops.
Quite a few of the topper school girls, who were invited to the minister’s residence this morning for breakfast and sweets distribution, hailed from far-flung areas like Chhatroo and Padar in district Kishtwar, and Pogal in district Ramban.
This, Dr Jitendra Singh said, could serve as a real Diwali gift for these promoting little girls for whom over the last one decade, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had rolled out a series of schemes and initiatives for easy, accessible options to prepare for competitive exams but many of them sometimes found it difficult to afford certain essential gadgets for round the clock facility at home.
While presenting laptops to two topper girls, each from the districts of Udhampur, Ramban, Doda, Kishtwar, and Kathua, Dr. Singh expressed happiness that the facilitated students hail from little-known villages and towns of these districts.
He said the laptops presented to students as a Diwali gift would encourage them to continue their academic pursuits.
While interacting with the students, Singh said that, in the last 11 years, the Modi-led government has ensured ease of education and preparation for students in view of a surge in their aspirations.
He said the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) has given students freedom to choose subjects according to their aptitude. He said the policy has given them wings to fly high in pursuit of their dreams and aspirations.
The students today are no longer prisoners of their parents’ choice of subjects, the minister said, and added that they now enjoy the freedom to choose out of a broad range of options, depending on their aptitude and evolving preferences.
There is true democratisation of opportunities and aspirations in this country today, he said.
Urging students to leverage technology for their academic growth and betterment of society, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the government has also ensured democratisation of opportunities for students belonging to all sections of society and all genders.
He said, the objective is to equip them with the requisite skills so that they can stay fully empowered. He said, the NEP 2020 is a modern, transformative policy for India’s education system, focusing on access, equity, quality, affordability and accountability.
The minister said the government is making huge investments in youth to prepare them to take on the leadership of the country in the times to come. He said the youth would be the architects of a developed India as envisioned by Prime Minister Modi, when India celebrates the centenary of her Independence in 2047.