Guwahati: Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Thursday felicitated 30 state-level meritorious students for the academic session 2024-25 and urged them to remain disciplined, focused and committed to excellence as they prepare to shoulder the responsibility of the state’s future.

The students from Classes III to XII were felicitated at the Golden Jubilee Meritorious Students Awards ceremony in Itanagar. Around 840 students have received the award at various district levels.

Education Minister P D Sona, Advisor to Education Minister Mutchu Mithi, senior officials of the Education Department, teachers, students and parents attended the ceremony.

Congratulating the awardees, Khandu appreciated the support extended by their parents, families, teachers and friends during their academic journey.

The Golden Jubilee Meritorious Students Award was instituted in 2022, the year Arunachal Pradesh celebrated 50 years since it was named Arunachal Pradesh in 1972. Its implementation began in the academic year 2023-24.

The 2024-25 edition is the second State-level ceremony, while the 2025-26 edition is also scheduled for the current year.

On education reforms, Khandu said the State Government has been working to restore the quality and effectiveness of government schools through the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the State’s Mission Shikshit Arunachal, with a target of achieving its objectives by 2029.

He said a task force was constituted for the implementation of NEP 2020, followed by extensive consultations with community-based organisations and other stakeholders.

Education officials, including the Minister, Advisor, Secretary, Director and DDSEs, also undertook district-level consultations, following which a comprehensive roadmap was prepared.

The Government is rationalising the number of schools and moving towards strengthening the Inter-Village (IV) school model, with greater emphasis on infrastructure and adequate availability of teachers, particularly subject teachers.

Khandu said significant recruitment of subject teachers through the State’s Public Service Commission had already been undertaken to strengthen government schools.

He also spoke about the rise in enrolment in government schools in recent years, saying the trend was particularly significant at a time when declining government-school enrolment remains a challenge across the country.

The Chief Minister said discipline, respect for elders and teachers, academic excellence and physical fitness must go together. Referring to Arunachal Pradesh’s tribal traditions, he urged students to preserve the culture of respecting parents, elders, teachers and all members of the school community.

He said sports should receive equal importance alongside academics for the overall development of young people. He said playgrounds have been provided in government schools across the state.

Khandu said the State has created multiple avenues for young people to pursue careers in government service, the private sector, entrepreneurship, startups and other emerging fields.

He cited the Arunachal Pradesh Staff Selection Board, APPSC, UPSC and multinational companies as avenues for employment and professional growth, while encouraging students to also consider entrepreneurship and business.

The Chief Minister said the State Government has been creating opportunities to encourage more Arunachali youth to join the Armed Forces as officers.

He spoke about the establishment of the State’s first Sainik School at Pasighat in collaboration with the Government of India and the second Sainik School at Tawang under PPP mode.

Khandu said the Government is also working with the Army to establish a structured coaching mechanism through which selected Arunachal students would receive specialised preparation for competitive examinations such as NDA and CDS.

The proposed initiative would help young people pursue careers as officers in the Army, Navy, Air Force and Central Armed Police Forces, including SSB, ITBP, CRPF and BSF.

On the State Government’s efforts to provide global exposure to Arunachal’s students, Khandu said the State is supporting students who secure admission to universities ranked among the top 150 globally under QS rankings.

He said the scholarship initiative, being implemented for students after Class XII, has already benefited Arunachali students, with around 13-14 students receiving the opportunity this year.

Sharing his personal experience, Khandu said he was himself a product of the government school system and therefore understood the challenges and ecosystem of government schools.

He recalled studying at the Government Gompa Middle School in Tawang, where he was part of the first batch after the school was upgraded to a secondary school.