Shimla: Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu today said the state government would explore the possibility of holding elections to the Students Central Association (SCA) in Himachal Pradesh University (HPU). The students’ union elections could not be held for the last 10 years due to election-related violence on the campus. Sukhu inaugurated the two-day “Maitri” programme of the Himachal Pradesh University Alumni Association (Decadal Chapter of the 90s). “I am in favour of holding students’ union elections, but the final decision in this regard will be taken only after discussions with the concerned officials,” he said. “The government is working towards making Himachal a self-reliant state and several steps are being taken to improve the quality of education in all public institutions. The government has introduced English medium in government schools from Class I itself,” he said. He said Rajiv Gandhi Day Boarding Schools are being set up in all 68 assembly constituencies of the state in a phased manner to provide quality education to students. He said the government is planning to bring innovative changes in the field of higher education based on modern teaching techniques so that every student can take maximum benefit from it. Sukhu said the government has adopted zero tolerance towards corruption.
He said when we came to power, the economic condition of the state was in shambles due to the huge debt inherited from the previous government. This forced us to take tough decisions to revive the derailed economy by generating income from existing resources. We have set a target to make Himachal Pradesh the most prosperous state by 2032. He said 4,000 orphans have been adopted as ‘children of the state’ under the Mukhyamantri Sukh Ashray Yojana and the state government has taken full responsibility for their education. He said a centre of excellence would be constructed at Tikri in Kandaghat area of Solan district to provide education to about 300 differently-abled children. Sukhu announced a grant of Rs 2 crore to the alumni association for the construction of their building. He also released three books written by senior journalist Sanjeev Sharma, including ‘Juni’, ‘Main Aur Meri Himachal Pradesh Vishwavidyalaya’ and ‘Yadein Buransh Ki’. Earlier, President of the Alumni Association Professor Chandramohan Parshira welcomed the Chief Minister and said that he would adopt Neri in Shimla for its overall development.
