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English from primary level in Uttaranchal

Staff Correspondent

Government and aided schools to be governed by same rules

DEHRA DUN: The Uttaranchal School Education Bill, 2006, was passed in the Vidhan Sabha here on Wednesday paving the way for uniform education and decentralisation of powers up to the Nyay Panchayat level. Giving out details, Education Minister Narendra Singh Bhandari said that the Bill was aimed at decentralising the system. Now all the Government and aided schools would be governed by the same rules. The institutions located in remote areas need not approach the District Inspector of Schools as most of the powers had been devolved in education officers at the Development Block and Nyay Panchayat levels. To a query, Mr Bhandari said the students would be taught English from the primary level so that they could opt for English or Hindi medium in senior classes. "The children of Uttaranchal are very bright and knowledge of English will put them at par with other students appearing in various competitions," he said.

In another interesting development, the Bill to double the pay, perks and pension of MLAs was passed unanimously. The only voice of dissent was that of Uttarakhand Kranti Dal member Pushpesh Tripathi who felt that the increase in salaries and perks of MLAs would add to the burden of the cash-strapped State.

Earlier, the House witnessed uproarious scenes with the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party and Bharatiya Janata Party members seeking an explanation on the irregular extension of the services of the Managing Director of the Uttaranchal Drinking Water Corporation. The commotion stopped after Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hirdeyesh assured that necessary enquiries would be made and action taken if any irregularities were found.

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English from primary level in Uttaranchal

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