Jairam Thakur accuses HP Govt of 'Congressizing' education, urges focus on employment-oriented learning

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], November 23 (ANI): BJP leader Jairam Thakur on Sunday accused the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh of pushing the state's education system towards "decline" and attempting to "Congressise" it, alleging misuse of official resources for political glorification.
In a strongly worded statement, the Leader of the Opposition in the Himachal Assembly said the government should focus on making education employment-orientated rather than "politically coloured".
"If the Chief Minister and Sukh's government can do something in the field of education, it would be better if they make it employment-orientated. We will not allow the Congressisation of education," the statement read.
Thakur targeted the government for allegedly shutting down nearly 2,000 educational institutions since coming to power, claiming that instead of strengthening the system, responsible officials were busy Congressising education.
"The government, which closed nearly 2,000 educational institutions in just three years since coming to power, should talk about strengthening the education system, but the responsible people talk about Congressising education, which is very unfortunate," the statement added.
Thakur further lashed out at the Himachal Pradesh Board of Education for publishing what he called a politically motivated booklet on the occasion of Children's Day.
He said a 72-page booklet, meant to focus on India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, was filled with political messaging and lacked academic integrity.
"It is surprising that 40 pages of the 72-page booklet are filled with congratulatory messages from Congress leaders," the statement stated, adding that even the state Education Minister, Education Secretary, and Director of Education had no messages included.
He also objected to the absence of references to national icons like Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, as well as to the lack of proper citations for quotations.
"Mahatma Gandhi, the champion of non-violence, is not mentioned in the entire book. There is no mention of Sardar Patel, the Iron Man of National Unity, without whom modern India is meaningless. The name of the author of the booklet or its chapters is not even mentioned," he alleged.
Thakur further claimed the booklet was not even printed at the state printing press, raising concerns over transparency and expenditure.
"This raises the question: are some in the government using Himachal Pradesh's funds to appease their political masters? Fortunately, Congress did not include its election symbol in the booklet," it added.
The BJP leader also criticised the government for spending resources on political promotion while ignoring the needs of teachers and students. He said allowances for paper evaluation and exam duties had been pending for more than two years.
"Himachal Pradesh teachers have not received the money for evaluation of exam papers for two years, and exam duty allowances are also pending for more than two years. The resources of the Himachal Pradesh Education Board should be spent on the betterment of the state's teachers and students, not on internal factionalism within the Congress party and to prove their closeness to the government and party leaders," the statement read.
Thakur reiterated that the BJP would strongly oppose any attempt to politicise education in the state and urged the government to fully implement the central government's National Education Policy (NEP) to make education more job-orientated.
He also demanded the immediate revival of stalled skill development programmes, saying this would help empower youth and contribute to the state's growth. (ANI)