Raipur, August 03, 2025 / Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai, while addressing the ‘Gyan Dhara – Shiksha Samvad’ program organized by Haribhoomi and INH Media Group in the capital Raipur today, said that our government considers education as the foundation of nation building. Chief Minister Shri Sai said that since I took over the responsibility of the education department, my priority has been to understand the department in depth and take solid steps for improvement. First of all, an in-depth review meeting was organized, in which it was found that despite the teacher-student ratio in the state being better than the national average, the distribution is unequal. The number of students is high in rural areas, but the number of teachers is relatively less, while teachers are posted in large numbers in urban areas. To remove this imbalance, the process of rationalization was started in the state. As a result, no school in Chhattisgarh is without a teacher today. The impact of this was so widespread that schools closed for years in villages like Irkabhatti have reopened.
The Chief Minister said that there is still a need for teachers in the state, keeping this in mind, the process of recruiting 5000 new teachers will be started soon.
*Effective implementation of the new education policy*
Chief Minister Shri Sai said that the National Education Policy 2020 has been implemented across the country under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, and our government in the state has adopted it promptly. Primary education is now being provided in 18 local languages and dialects in Chhattisgarh. This has not only strengthened the conservation of local languages, but has also significantly increased the learning ability of children.
The Chief Minister said that students are getting high-tech facilities under the PM-Shree School scheme. A budget of ₹133 crore has been approved for the maintenance of school buildings. Also, concrete steps have been taken to improve the condition of hostels.
*From Naxalism to development – a new direction for Bastar*
Chief Minister Shri Sai said that Chhattisgarh is a rich state, full of minerals, forests, fertile land and biodiversity, but it is also true that this state has been suffering from the pain of Naxalism for years. The Chief Minister said that in the review meeting held with Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, it was decided that the Naxal problem would be dealt with a coordinated strategy on two fronts—security and development. The government appealed to the Naxals to lay down their arms and return to the mainstream, and its positive results have come to the fore. So far, more than 1500 Naxals have surrendered.
Along with this, many active Naxalites have been neutralized in the operation being conducted by the security forces. Special efforts are being made through the ‘Niyad Nella Nar’ scheme for rehabilitation. The Chief Minister said that the permanent solution to Naxalism is possible not only through the security forces, but also through the expansion of basic facilities like education, roads, electricity and water. The government is working specifically in these areas.
The Chief Minister said that Dhudmaras village of Bastar has been ranked among the 20 major tourism villages of the world, which is a matter of pride for the state. Tourism has been given the status of an industry, and work is in progress on the goal of 7 lakh hectares of irrigation facility and 200 MW of electricity generation through the Bodhghat project in Bastar.
The Chief Minister said that there has been unique progress in the field of education in the last 25 years. There was a time when there was only 1 medical college in the state, today 15 medical colleges are running. So far 19 private universities have been established in the state and the process of establishing 3 new universities is underway.
He said that India has been a Vishwaguru since ancient times and today it is again moving towards achieving that position. Students are coming from abroad to study in India. The state government’s aim is that Chhattisgarh should become the center of higher education.
*Target of 2047: Developed India, Developed Chhattisgarh*
Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai said that the state government has prepared a detailed vision document for “Developed Chhattisgarh” by the year 2047. Education has been given top priority in the document.
The aim of the government is that the quality of schools and colleges in the state should be in accordance with international standards and the contribution of education in the state’s GSDP should become strong and effective.
*Honoring outstanding teachers*
At the end of the program, Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai honored the teachers who have made outstanding contributions in the field of education with the “Outstanding Teacher Award”. The teachers who received the award include Ms. K. Sharda, Shri B. R. Sahu, Shri Bharat Kishore Yadav, Dr. Dhananjay Pandey, Shri Baldau Singh Shyam.
Deputy Chief Minister Shri Vijay Sharma and Sports and Revenue Minister Shri Tankram Verma also addressed the program. MLAs Shri Purandar Mishra, Shri Motilal Sahu, Guru Khushwant Saheb, educationists of the state, representatives of universities and a large number of students were present in the program.