Srinagar : Lt Governor Manoj Sinha on Saturday inaugurated the State Council of Education, Research and Training (SCERT) on the lines of NCERT to assist the administration in implementing policies for human resource development, an official spokesperson said.
The Lieutenant Governor also announced union territory-level awards for the teaching fraternity in Jammu and Kashmir from next year.
In an online event, the Lt Governor, while addressing scores of teachers and students from across the union territory, greeted the teaching fraternity on the occasion of Teachers’ Day, which is observed as a mark of respect for the nation-builders, underscoring their indispensable role in the overall development and progress of our great country, he said.
At the event, Sinha formally launched the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) scheme through online mode and also dedicated projects worth Rs 20 crores, of the School Education Department, accentuating overall education infrastructure in the UT, the spokesperson said.
He said the SCERT was also inaugurated on this occasion through electronic mode.
The SCERT will function in the union territory on the lines of the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), which is the apex institution of educational research and training at the national level.
During the event, the Lt Governor took note of the efforts of the teaching fraternity during the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic and said they have shown the society that tough times can be used as an opportunity.
The Lt Governor said healthcare and education are the cornerstones of development and a society is judged by its achievements in these two sectors.
A community is considered great or otherwise depending upon its ability to provide healthcare and education to its most marginalised sections, Sinha said, adding that doctors and healthcare providers hold special status all over the world.
“Our civilisation places the providers of education – teachers, even a step higher and we revere them as ‘guru’, ‘acharya’ or ‘ustad’,” he said.
In his address, the Lt Governor invoked 15th century poet Saint Kabir Das, saying his first bow is to the ‘guru’ and not God, because it is the guru who showed him the way to God, the spokesperson said.
Outlining that the union territory has embarked on a new mission and a new path of progress, the Lt Governor said the Union government has put peace and prosperity of the people of this land on top priority.
“This is reflected in a large number of decisions taken in the last one year,” Sinha said, stressing that the road ahead is full of opportunities to realise the potential of this region and exhorted upon the officers to put in their best efforts for laying a new foundation for all-round development.
Advisor to the Lt Governor, KK Sharma; Chief Secretary, BVR Subrahmanyam; Principal Secretary to the Lt Governor, Bipul Pathak; Principal Secretary, School Education & Skill Development, Dr. Asgar Hassan Samoon; Chairperson, JKBOSE, Prof. Veena Pandita; Director School Education Kashmir, Mohammad Younis Malik were also present on the occasion; while Deputy Commissioners, senior officers of the School Education department, teachers and scores of students joined through video conferencing.
Earlier, in his welcome address, K.K.Sharma highlighted the work done by School Education department in past one year especially during the current pandemic situation.
