Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has instructed officials to integrate lessons on drug de-addiction into the school curriculum. Chairing a review meeting of the School Education Department on Monday, he also announced that 100 meritorious students from rural areas in every district will be selected for high-quality coaching for competitive examinations such as the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) and Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
Maharashtra continues to rank among the country's leading states in school education and is strengthening its pupil-centric system by balancing quality of education, promotion of mother tongue, preservation of history and modern facilities, Fadnavis stated. The chief minister noted that the state government has decided to set up anti-drug guidance and counselling committees in schools and launch a "Drug-Free School" campaign.
In a social media post on X, the chief minister's office stated that Fadnavis directed that action be taken to include curriculum related to de-addiction in the school syllabus.
Fadnavis directed officials to implement stringent measures to strengthen school safety and prevent cyber fraud and drug abuse among students.
Maharashtra has retained the second position in the national Performance Grading Index (PGI) 2.0 for school education, Fadnavis said and stressed the need to implement innovative initiatives across all schools, including PM SHRI schools.
The chief minister's office highlighted that Maharashtra's share is 9.34 per cent of the total schools in the country, 8.84 per cent of teachers, and 7.69 per cent of students. “In the total 1,08,065 schools in the state, 2,20,48,443 students are receiving education, and the student-teacher ratio is 28:1,” the social media post stated.
The state government is implementing reforms at various levels for the expansion of the school education system and quality education, the official statement asserted.
Fadnavis reviewed the implementation of key initiatives, including Aadhaar authentication of school students, educational benefits provided to 35 lakh students under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, the 'Pavitra' teacher recruitment portal and the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
The state government is implementing several initiatives to improve school education, including the Nipun Maharashtra Mission, Rashtriya Pratham campaign, the "Majhi Shala Sundar Shala" (My School, Beautiful School) initiative and enrolment drives, officials informed.
Teachers are being provided online training through AI-based platforms. Exposure visits, adoption of schools, CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) partnerships and the "Super 100" scheme are also being promoted, as per the official information.
Under the scheme, 100 meritorious students from rural areas in every district will be selected for high-quality coaching for competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE, the release said.
The history of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj has been given extensive place in the NCERT textbook on behalf of the central government, the officials added.