Pallavi Sharma
SHIMLA: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Friday (August 8, 2025) handed over appointment letters to 312 newly selected drawing teachers during a formal ceremony held in Shimla.
On the occasion, he also gave warm send-off to a group of five students from government schools who were embarking on an educational tour to Japan. These students would visit various academic institutions and historical sites across Japan.
During the event, the Chief Minister launched several educational initiatives, including the student-centric news platform edsk Express, Baseline School Ranking Accreditation Report, Geo-tagged and Geo-fenced Smart ‘Upsthiti’ (attendance monitoring system) and the Vidya Samiksha Kendra.
Highlights achievements in education during his tenure
Congratulating the newly appointed teachers, the Chief Minister highlighted the significant progress that the state had made in education quality over the past two and a half years.
He said, “When the present Congress government came to power, the state ranked 21st nationally in terms of quality education. Today, we have moved up to the fifth position.” He said during the survey, it was also found that Himachal Pradesh was at number 2 in Class III, at fifth place in Class VI and at fourth position in Class IX in terms of providing quality education to the students.
The Chief Minister said that the teachers had made immense contributions in elevating the state’s educational standing and emphasised the need to prepare for future challenges collaboratively. He said the state government was seriously considering not to retire teachers in the middle of an academic session to avoid disruption in students’ learning.
Sukhu said that his government was committed to bringing revolutionary reforms in the education sector, with several initiatives already underway. “The previous government opened various schools for political gains, but our focus was to ensure that no child was deprived of education and that they receive quality instruction,” he said.
The government has already appointed 5,100 TGT (Trained Graduate Teacher) teachers in medical, non-medical and arts streams. A rationalisation drive has also been initiated in schools where student-teacher ratios were imbalanced. The government was also establishing Rajiv Gandhi Day-Boarding Schools equipped with all subject-specialist teachers, for which recruitments would begin soon, he said.
Referring to recruitment reforms, he stated that while the Himachal Pradesh Subordinate Services Selection Commission was marred by paper leaks during the previous BJP government’s tenure, and that the present government had taken strict measures to restore transparency.
Education Minister Rohit Thakur praised the Chief Minister’s leadership and stated that the state was on the path to achieve 100 per cent literacy, although the journey was challenging. “We are hill people and we are equipped to overcome tough conditions,” he said. He attributed the rise in education rankings to the CM’s vision and the relentless efforts of the education department staff.
Earlier, Education Secretary Rakesh Kanwar welcomed the Chief Minister at the event and said that under his leadership, several reformative steps had been taken, yielding positive results. As a result of these efforts, the state has secured the fifth position in the country in terms of quality education.
Director of Higher Education Dr Amarjeet Singh, Director of School Education Ashish Kohli, Samagra Shiksha Project Director Rajesh Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Anupam Kashyap and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
