Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday flagged off the second batch of 30 government school principals for training in Singapore at MGSIPA in Chandigarh. The teachers will leave for Singapore from Delhi airport on March 4 and undergo training from March 5 to 11 at the National Institute of Education (NIE).

Amid a row with Governor Banwarilal Purohit, who had questioned the selection criteria for the first batch of teachers who underwent training in February in Singapore, Mann said that the sole criterion is merit. He said that the agreement has already been signed with them to depute them in any school across the state after the training.

“During the training, these teachers will learn about modern teaching practices prevalent abroad. After their return, they will share the practices with students and their colleagues, thereby ensuring that students get acquainted with the pattern of study on foreign shores,” Mann said.

Mann said that this was a revolutionary step which will rejuvenate the entire education system of the state for the well-being of the students. He said that it is a proud moment for him as these teachers “will act as agents of change in the education sector”. The chief minister also expressed hope that this will bring much-needed qualitative change in the state’s education system by benefitting the students.

He said that it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction that most of these teachers are state or national awardees and have carved a niche for themselves in the field of education.

The chief minister also said that a similar initiative that will go a long way in reforming education is ‘Schools of Eminence’. He said that these schools will act as a catalyst to groom students for the competitions ahead and envisioned that they will become role models for other states.

“The single aim of all these efforts is to reverse the trend of brain drain by making youth active partners of socio-economic growth in the state,” he said.

He said that Punjabi youth have immense potential due to which world-acclaimed IT companies and universities want to ink knowledge-sharing agreements with the state. Punjab, the CM said, has emerged as a symbol of quality education across the country.

Mann said that the Singapore training is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the state government and part of a scheme cleared by the Cabinet recently to ensure that the professional skills of the teaching fraternity are enhanced so that they can deliver the best education to the students. Mann said that the sole aim of this step is to ensure quality education for government school students.

The chief minister said that this training will further widen the horizon of the teachers by equipping them with state-of-the-art teaching practices, leadership skills, creation of teaching-learning materials and audio-visual technology. He added that it would help them meet the objectives of education in the post-pandemic world, essentials of strategic management, shaping school culture, curriculum leadership, mentoring etc. He envisioned that this path-breaking initiative will prove to be a milestone for reforming the education system in the state.