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The government’s schemes with too many restrictions to make them truly inclusive by focusing only on the target groups often become utterly counterproductive.
The Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Wednesday announced the implementation of the ‘Punjab Education Model’ across the state besides strengthening the basic infrastructure of the government educational institutions by pulling them out of the financial crisis.
On his maiden visit to the Punjabi University Patiala, the CM declared to take over the financial liability of the university to the tune of Rs 150 Crore and also announced the annual grant of Rs 240 Crore as part of the efforts to bailout the university from the fiscal mess.
Addressing the teachers, employees, and the students at Guru Tegh Bahadur hall here, the CM said the monthly grant in aid to the university has been increased to the level of Rs 20 Crore which earlier stood at Rs 9.50 Crore.
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Lauding the efforts of the Punjabi University to ensure the development of Punjabi language besides quality higher education to students from poor economic backgrounds, Channi said that the previous governments especially some Chief Ministers did not undertake any step to assist the university in riding over the crisis. “It is for this very reason that the university, a proud flag-bearer of Punjabi mother tongue, has got entangled in a financial mess of the worst kind”, he added.
Further, the CM said that during his tenure as the technical education minister, he burnt midnight oil to help wriggle the university, the second university in the world to be named after a language, out of the financial crisis.
However, the then Chief Minister didn’t pay any heed. Now that he is the CM, he is undertaking initiatives to improve the educational infrastructure in the state, said Channi.
He said the state government is undertaking herculean efforts to boost the Punjabi language and it is in keeping with this thinking that Punjabi Language Act has been strictly implemented in the state. He also disclosed that all out efforts are afoot to ensure that the government and private education is within the reach of common man.
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