Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur on Tuesday said the government is now focussing on strengthening infrastructure in existing educational institutions so that the students could get quality education.

Addressing the 71st Annual Prize Distribution Function of Vallabh Government College Mandi, Thakur said the state government was committed to provide quality education to the students of the state at their doorsteps.

He also nostalgically remembered his college days and shared a few interesting incidents of his college life with the gathering.

He also urged the students to work hard to achieve their goal in life and at the same time enjoy their college life and said the college days teaches and prepare the students to meet the future challenges in their life.

He stated that Vallabh Government College Mandi has undergone a sea change since its inception way back in 1948. The college during this period has not only grown in size in respect of infrastructure, but also made outstanding contribution in the field of education, sports, politics, services and other fields.

Besides, the alumni of this College have made their mark in various fields, which not only was an honour of them but also for their parents, teachers and whole state, the CM said.

He further stated that the college has been named after first Home Minister of Independent India Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. Sardar Patel was a great statesman and visionary who played a major role in uniting 522 odd princely states in independent India. He himself was alumni of this prestigious institution which have over 7,200 regular students. He always enjoyed visiting this College as he has several sweet memories of his college days. Rs 27 crore new campus building was coming up in the campus of this college which would be dedicated during the month of August this year.

The Chief Minister said the state government took an historic decision to setup second State University at Mandi which would go a long way in providing quality education to the students of the region. Land was being identified for setting up of this University and would start functioning from this year itself and a provision of Rs 8,500 crore has been made for education sector during the current financial year. There were over 18 colleges in Mandi district itself which shows the commitment of the government to provide quality education to the students of the district.

He thanked the students for playing an important role during the Covid pandemic and added it was due to the cooperation of the people and youth of the state that Himachal emerged as the first state in the country in administration of first and second dose of vaccine.

He also honoured the meritorious students and students excelling in different fields on the occasion