CM Pawan Chamling Meets with Students of South and West Sikkim

Gangtok, July 25, 2014: Chief Minister Pawan Chamling met with students from the South and West Districts at his residence in Ghurpshey, South Sikkim, to discuss the importance of education and personal responsibility. He encouraged the students to identify their life’s purpose, become creators of their own fate, and live with positive aims and objectives to become responsible individuals. Comparing Sikkim’s educational progress with neighboring states, he highlighted the state’s constructive efforts in improving the education sector, urging the students to appreciate these advancements.

Mr. Chamling emphasized that the government’s objective is to provide educational facilities at all levels, with a focus on job-oriented, qualitative education that builds skilled and competent individuals. He reiterated the state’s commitment to enhancing the quality of education for Sikkimese students and shared several initiatives, including the "Prerna Yojna" scheme, which encourages girls to pursue their studies and discourages early marriages, and the "Chief Minister’s Meritorious Scholarship" for high-performing government school students. He also announced the recent move to make education in government schools and colleges free and mentioned the introduction of scholarships for students in the OBC category.

Reflecting on his political career, the Chief Minister stressed that he has never misled students or encouraged negative actions. Regarding the recent college fee hike issue, Mr. Chamling explained that he only learned of the situation after it had escalated while he was in New Delhi for meetings with Union Ministers. Upon hearing of the issue, he immediately directed the Human Resource Development Department (HRDD) to roll back the fee hike and established a one-man committee to investigate the matter. He clarified that decentralization of responsibilities within the government allows departments to make independent decisions, which was the case with the HRDD’s decision on the fee hike.

Although some aspects of the situation got out of hand, Mr. Chamling condemned the unlawful activities that occurred, noting that the students' concerns were hijacked by vested interests, leading them down a negative path. He assured that the inquiry committee’s recommendations would be implemented within 15 days of the findings, according to democratic principles. If the students were not satisfied with the outcome, the government would revisit the matter.

The event was attended by SLA Speaker K.N. Rai, Chairpersons Lakpa Ghising and Girish Chandra Rai, former MLA Binod Rai, SP (South) S.G. Bhutia, DC (South) Prabhakar Verma, ADM (South) Kapil Meena, and SDPO (Namchi) Gigee Norbu.

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