'Cleanliness pledge' to be administered in Hry govt schools

The BJP government in Haryana has decided to administer 'cleanliness pledge' to students studying in its schools, a senior official said today.
It has also been decided that each student would plant one sapling and would also ensure its survival and maintenance, Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary, School Education Department, P K Das, said here.
He said that directions have also been issued that the officers visiting the schools would also plant a sapling each as it would also inspire the students to plant maximum saplings.
Das said that a 'Green School Campaign' has also been launched to make the school premises clean. During this month, the students were also being told about the adverse effects of plastics on our environment, he said.

Das, meanwhile, said that the department has asked the "untrained or unqualified teachers" teaching in private schools to acquire the prescribed educational and professional qualification under the Right to Education Act.
He said that about 6,800 such teachers were teaching in different private schools of the state.

He said that the state government has made an arrangement for such teachers as per which they could do a two-year certificate course in diploma in education through distance education.
Das said that teachers who intend to do this course could apply on the portal of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) by September 15.

He claimed that there were many states in the country where "unqualified teachers" were teaching in the schools but there was no such teacher in Haryana government schools.
"Now, as per the instructions of the Government of India, such teachers are required to acquire the prescribed educational and professional qualification by July 2019," he said.
He said that with a view to improve the teaching skills in government schools,a system is being evolved on the pattern of Union HRD Ministry's Material Teachers Platform System to provide teaching materials to the teachers in the classrooms.
With view to meet the demand of teachers in government schools, requisition of all the projected vacancies of three categories - Post Graduate Teacher (PGT), Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) and Primary Teachers would be sent to the state recruiting agencies by March 2018, he said. Das said that it has also been decided that after March 2018, requisition of the projected vacancies would be sent to the recruiting agencies in the month of December every year so that these be filled as per the requirement. Das said that moral education was included in the school curriculum last year, as an auxiliary subject.

He said that though extract from religious texts including holy Gita had been included in the subject of moral education, it could not be considered as a religious education as its aim was to inculcate moral values among the students.