Maharashtra Governor launches slew of educational initiatives

Mumbai, Aug 9 (IANS) Maharashtra Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan on Friday launched the Phase 2 of 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Shala Sundar Shala' 'Maha Vachan Utsav', 'Majhi Parasbaug' and other educational initiatives of the School Education Department at Raj Bhavan. 

The Governor unveiled the logo and QR code of the programme of registering and providing employment and skill development opportunities to the youths of Maharashtra at Baden-Wurttemberg State of Germany on the occasion.

An MoU between the Department of School Education and Goethe Institutes Mumbai and Pune on teaching German language to youths and another MoU regarding teaching Marathi in the US was also signed.

The state government has already made the allocation of Rs 767 crore to train 10,000 youth initially for jobs in Baden-Wurttemberg, a state in southwest Germany bordering France and Switzerland. 

The government proposes to give employment opportunities to around 4,00,000 youth in the future.  

In addition to this, the government will establish approximately 200 classrooms across Maharashtra, by investing around Rs 36 crore to ensure students complete the four levels of German language learning - A1, A2, B1, and B2.

The State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has been asked to sign an agreement with the Goethe Institute to conduct German language classes in each of the state's district headquarters.

The Maha Vachan Utsav aims to teach the importance of reading and to teach every child to read proficiently by the third grade. 

It aims to create a broad public reading movement by publicising the programme through public participation to provide reading opportunities to children besides inculcating interest in reading among children, providing quality literature in Marathi language to children according to age group and thereby helping to create a new reading class of Marathi language. 

Moreover, the Mukhyamantri Majhi Shala initiative is implemented with an objective to create a conducive atmosphere in the schools for the overall development of the students by promoting competitive spirit. 

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis addressed the meeting through a digital platform. Minister of School Education and Marathi Language Deepak Kesarkar, Minister of Skill and Employment Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Girish Mahajan, Consul General of Germany in Mumbai Achim Fabig, Principal Secretary, School Education IA Kundan, officials, principals, teachers, students and invitees were present.