Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar Advocates Lighter Bags And Quality Nutrition In Schools
Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar Advocates Lighter Bags And Quality Nutrition In Schools
Maharashtra Minister of School Education, Deepak Kesarkar, has directed officials to ensure that students do not carry heavier backpacks while achieving qualitative changes and receiving high-quality nutritional meals. He emphasized this during a review meeting at the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board in Shivajinagar, attended by key officials like School Education Commissioner Suraj Mandhare and Deputy Director of the State Council of Educational Research and Training, Shobha Khandare.
Kesarkar highlighted the importance of exploring initiatives by the Women and Child Development Department for young children and stressed the necessity for teachers to make special efforts for students’ qualitative progress. He suggested implementing the Shikshan Seva Saptah (Education Service Week) effectively, ensuring internet connectivity for all schools, and proposing satellite connectivity in remote areas to facilitate online programs.
He insisted on including pulses and nutritious grains in the students’ meals and instructed education officers to regularly inspect the quality of the nutritional food provided. Additionally, he proposed scout and guide training for teachers to enhance student training quality. The effective implementation of the Chief Minister’s ‘Mukhyamantri Mazhi Shala Tappa 2’ (My School Phase 2) and ‘Swachhata Monitor Tapaa 2’ (Cleanliness Monitor Phase 2) programs was also discussed.
Kesarkar urged fostering an interest in agriculture among students through the Parasbaug Yojana (Kitchen Garden Scheme), integrating agriculture into the school curriculum, and collaborating with the Agriculture Department for guidance. He highlighted the benefits of school rooftop gardens in reducing school temperatures and providing better food for students, and stressed achieving 100% kitchen garden targets, suggesting funding requests for pumps and solar systems to the District Planning Committee.
To celebrate Teacher’s Day, Kesarkar suggested organizing various competitions, including the Maha Vachan Utsav (Maha Reading Festival) and educational campaigns. He urged that all plans for students be executed on a campaign level, ensuring no student is deprived of benefits. Officials were instructed to frequently inspect educational standards, uniforms, backpack weight, usage of blank pages in notebooks, nutrition, kitchen garden schemes, scout and guide programs, scholarship schemes, school sanitation, and kitchen shed conditions.
For the Ananddayi Shaniwar (Joyful Saturday) initiative, Kesarkar recommended organizing diverse programs with assistance from renowned artists and implementing Semi-English mediums in model schools. He encouraged teachers to adopt new technologies to elevate educational quality.
During the session, Mandhare provided updates on several initiatives including the Chief Minister’s ‘Mukhyamantri Mazhi Shala Sundar Shala Tappa 2’ (My School, Beautiful School Phase 2), ‘Swachhata Monitor Tapaa 2’ (Cleanliness Monitor Phase 2), Maha Vachan Abhiyan Tappa 2 (Maha Reading Campaign Phase 2), Parabagh Yojana (Kitchen Garden Scheme), Shikshan Seva Saptah (Education Service Week), Pavitra Portal, center head recruitment, and the approval process for self-financed new schools. The event concluded with a tree-planting ceremony by Minister Kesarkar at the Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board office premises.
