Bhubaneswar: As many as 482 Post Graduate Teachers (PGTs) joined non-government-aided higher secondary schools of the state at an induction programme organised at the Lok Seva Bhawan here Friday. Addressing the new teachers, the first such batch to join these schools, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik urged them to keep themselves updated with the latest academic skills and use information technology as a tool to make teaching more interesting and accessible.
While advising the teachers to discharge their duties with utmost dedication, Patnaik said that their in-depth knowledge and expertise in different subjects will transform the classroom ecosystem and influence the learning outcome of students in a positive way. Congratulating the teachers and their family members, he said that education determines a population’s future. “It provides the foundational support for developing a better society. The quality of education is one of the indicators of individual and social development,” he said elaborating on his government’s priority to education.
Under the 5T initiative, he said, the higher secondary schools have undergone significant transformation in terms of infrastructure and availability of IT tools. “As many as 110 high schools have been upgraded to higher secondary level and have started functioning this year alone,” Patnaik added. Speaking on the occasion, School and Mass Education Minister Sudam Marndi congratulated the newly recruited teachers while also appreciating the fact that in the first batch, 50 per cent are women. “This is an indication of the growing status of women and their empowerment in the state,” he underlined.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP