Feature-Himachal becomes leader in literacy and imparting quality education

Shimla, 14^th September, 2025-The innovative initiatives of Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu to introduce the CBSE curriculum in government schools is a historic step to transform education sector for holistic development of students studying in government institutions and prepare them for future competitions and challenges. The decision owes its genesis to the Chief Minister's vision and is ready for effective implementation after going through extensive consultations with experts. The step, with focus on shaping the bright future of students, will play a decisive role in carving a progressive future of the youth by ensuring their holistic development.

The state government is implementing new schemes with the resolve to ensure modern and quality education for every child in Himachal and is fully committed to their successful implementation. In this financial year, a budget provision of Rs. 9,849 crore has been made for the education sector, which reflects the government’s commitment towards quality education across the state.

Fulfilling the election guarantee, the government has introduced English-medium in government schools from the first grade. As a result, children studying in these classes are today becoming capable of expressing their ideas proficiently in both English and Hindi, with confidence and skills.

The government is strengthening existing educational institutions by equipping them with modern facilities and benchmark teacher-student ratio. For this purpose, rationalization of schools has also been carried out. The education system has witnessed remarkable improvement in the education sector owing to such tough but essential decisions and Himachal has emerged as a leading state in the student-teacher ratio.

To make modern and quality education accessible to every child, Rajiv Gandhi Government Model Day-Boarding Schools were being established in every assembly constituency. These schools will be equipped with smart classrooms, libraries, sports facilities and other modern resources to ensure the holistic development of children.

The state government has declared a total of 850 educational institutions as centres of excellence, including 500 primary schools, 100 high schools, 200 senior secondary schools, 48 colleges and two Sanskrit colleges. Adequate teachers, buildings equipped with modern infrastructure, laboratories and other essential facilities are being ensured in these schools.

The government is also effectively implementing the Dr. Y.S. Parmar Vidyarthi Rin Yojana with the focus on making higher education accessible to all the children of the state. Under this scheme, students can avail of education loans of up to Rs. 20 lakh at an interest rate of just one percent for studies in India or abroad.

Modern subjects like Artificial Intelligence and Data Science have been introduced to prepare children for the challenges of the future. More than 5,400 teaching posts and over 7,000 posts in various categories in the Education Department have been filled by the government. Breaking away from the old system, the government has also decided that the teachers would be retired from services at the end of the year, unlike earlier times when teachers would retire anytime in between academic sessions, severely affecting the studies of children.

To ensure better coordination and maximum utilization of resources in the Education Department, the state government has reorganized its directorates. Under this, the Directorate of School Education has been separated, which will deal exclusively with matters from primary to secondary education, while the Directorate of Higher Education will handle issues related only to higher education.

In another historic initiative, for the first time, students are being sent on educational tours and teachers on study visits to learn about modern education systems both within India and abroad. In the academic session 2024–25, 334 teachers and 50 students were sent to Singapore. Additionally, 310 students and 32 teachers were sent on an educational tour to Kerala.

Along with education, the nutritional needs of children are also being taken care of. Under the Mukhyamantri Bal Posahar Yojana, about 5.35 lakh children are being provided nutritious meals in nearly 15,000 schools.

Himachal Pradesh has achieved unprecedented success in the field of education by attaining the status of a fully literate state. As a result of the state government’s efforts, Himachal Pradesh has achieved a literacy rate of 99.30 percent. This is a proud achievement for Himachal, as the state has achieved the target of full literacy well before the target year of 2030 set by the Government of India.

In the National Achievement Survey, Himachal Pradesh secured 5^th place, while in 2021 the state was at the 21^st position. In the ASER Report-2025, the reading ability of the children of the state has been assessed as among the best in the country. At present, on most educational parameters, Himachal Pradesh ranks among the topmost states of India. These achievements are the outcome of the historic decisions taken by the state government.

From the upcoming session, the government was also mulling to contextualize NCERT textbooks for classes 6 to 12 with local Himachal references to help children develop a sense of pride and belonging. As a result, the school books would include information regarding ancient temples, monasteries, forts, heritage sites, traditional architecture, dialects, folk arts, handicrafts, fairs, festivals and historic movements of the state. Chapters dedicated to freedom fighters like General Zorawar Singh, Wazir Ram Singh Pathania, Dr. Y.S. Parmar and martyrs such as Captain Vikram Batra, Major Somnath Sharma and Captain Saurabh Kalia would also be included for studies in the school textbooks.

These ambitious efforts of the state government are certainly paving the way for Himachal to become the leader in education across the country.