Pune district’s Zilla Parishad plans to expand its model school programme to 1,000 schools, while Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar urged teachers to become literate in artificial intelligence and help students adapt to changing educational demands.
Pawar was speaking at the Pune Zilla Parishad’s Ideal Teacher Awards, Chairman’s Cup and scholarship examination achievers’ felicitation programme at Ganesh Kala Krida Manch. The event honoured 53 teachers, 522 students and three winners of the Chairman’s Cup with certificates and mementoes.
Pawar said 303 Zilla Parishad schools in the district had already been transformed through the model school initiative. She said the state government would provide the necessary support for the target of bringing 1,000 schools under the programme.
She also called on teachers to move beyond textbook-based instruction and encourage hard work, scientific thinking, patriotism, reading and independent questioning among students. “Teachers need to become AI literate according to changing times,” Pawar said, adding that students should be prepared to remain competitive from the school level.
Pawar referred to initiatives including Global Guruji and opportunities for teachers to learn foreign languages as efforts to strengthen the teaching workforce. She said children studying in Zilla Parishad schools represented the strength of rural Maharashtra.
Pune Zilla Parishad Vice-President Vivek Walase Patil separately sought state funding to construct protective walls around schools in areas where leopard movement has been reported. He said students required a safe environment alongside educational facilities.
Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Gajanan Patil said the district was implementing Mission 300, Global Guruji, teacher training programmes, a children’s literature conference, a bicycle bank for girls and a children’s parliament. Zilla Parishad President Veerdhaval Jagdale said the administration would continue evaluating teachers’ work and focus on improving educational quality.
