PATHALGAON: It was indeed a proud moment for tribal-dominated Chhattisgarh when 54 pupils of state-run Prayas Boarding schools – including as many as 21 from Jashpur District’s rural areas – were recently selected for admission at Indian Institutes of Technology and National Institutes of Technology.
“My government is giving a fitting reply to rebel terror by providing plus expanding education and healthcare facilities in remote areas of Bastar Division for bringing about peace and development ,” Chief Minister Raman Singh averred on June 19 while honouring the young achievers.
In a strongly-worded warning to the Naxals, Dr. Singh said, “Nobody enjoys the right to destroy schools or hospitals. There has been an enhancement in awareness with spread of learning in the affected areas. The flames of knowledge will incinerate the menace of insurgency in the near future.”
Prayas Boarding schools are functioning in far-flung areas of all five divisions of the state.
Expressing satisfaction over the results, the Chief Minister announced that the seats in such academic institutions in the state capital would be increased to 1,000 from 500 and the 54 students provided annual assistance of Rs. 40,000 each by the regime. He announced that a Prayas Boarding school would be established in Korba.
In the words of Jashpur Collector Priyanka Shukla, “The 21 students – 20 of the S.T. category and one from the general – were provided special coaching at a government institution in the district headquarters. They were also taken to metropolitan cities for exposure and that boosted self-confidence.”