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| 'Insurance companies reluctant to cover students' | | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Dec 9: Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad's announcement on the eve of Children's Day to offer insurance cover to the school going students has been endorsed by a Parliamentary Panel which has strongly suggested such measures to maintain retention in the government schools.
Noting that the insurance companies were reluctant to the proposal, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on HRD said the State Government would have to take a "leading as well as active role" for the purpose.
If implemented, the proposal could prove to be an effective tool for enhancing retention and enrollment, particularly in those schools which were located in the militancy-infested areas, the Committee said in its report.
The panel also recommended to the department to extend all possible help to the State Government in this regard.
The State Government informed the Committee that the insurance firms have been approached by some districts but there was not much progress.
The Committee was told by the State Government that in the last couple of years not a single day was lost due to militancy. The Committee, which visited many schools in Srinagar and nearby districts, said that the State administration appeared to be making all out efforts to make the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) a success.
However, in many schools, the classes were found to be held in open space and in corridors due to paucity of space. Toilet facilities were insufficient and many schools had no separate toilets for boys and girls, it noted.
The Committee also felt that dissemination of information on Mid-Day Meal (MDM) and SSA through institution of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) could fetch better publicity.
Noting that the State Government has to get itself up for implementing MDM scheme in a big way, the Committee said "what is unfortunate is that a noble scheme to attract out-of-school students is not being implemented in right earnest".
The Centre should make special efforts to ascertain the problems afflicting the MDM scheme in the State and facilitate them to implement it in a most pro-active manner, it said.
Full Central Assistance should be given to the State for construction of anganwadis on the pattern of full Central assistance provided to the Northeastern states for construction of Anganwadi centres, it recommended. |
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