Paper bag-making units to be set up in schools in J&K:Minister

Jammu and Kashmir government today said paper bag-making units would be set up in various schools in an effort to turn the state polythene-free.
"The Department of Education will set up paper bag-making units in various schools across the state and will invite experts to guide us in creating sustainable business models so that the entire state becomes free of polythene," Education Minister, Naeem Akhtar said.
Addressing the Annual Parents' Day function at Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Bandipora, in north Kashmir, the Minister directed the civil and police administration to strictly implement the ban on polythene bags in the district and penalise the offenders.

"With the help of the staff and students, we will evolve a business model where students become equal partners. With so much of pollution, our environment is degrading slowly, but I want this school to lead the state in creating an alternative for polythene bags," he said, while directing the school administration to open bank accounts for the students so that the earnings from paper bags are directly credited to them.
A group of 40 girl students enrolled at the school work at the paper bag-making unit set up in the school last year.
Meanwhile, Akhtar said the Department will also start evening classes at Women's College, Jammu and Srinagar from the next academic session.

He said to begin with, evening classes would be started in the nursing course.

"The healthcare industry will face immense dearth of skilled labour in coming years. The evening classes will not only take care of employment problem in some measure, but it will also breathe a fresh life into the dull academic atmosphere in our state," the minister said.
Expressing satisfaction at the changes affected through the process of rationalisation in the Education Department, he more needs to be done and the teacher community should rise to the occasion and bring about a revolution so that Jammu and Kashmir sets standards in the field of education.

"We should churn out a complete human being in our school, who becomes an asset and positively contributes to the social, economic and political development of our state," he added.