Outstanding Govt schools honoured with incentive award
Chief secretary urges students to be torch bearers for improving Govt Schools
Source: Chronicle News Service / DIPR

Imphal, April 02 2025: Chief secretary Prashant Kumar Singh has urged students from government schools who have been honoured with awards to become the torchbearers for elevating status of government schools.

Speaking as the chief guest during distribution of "Incentive to Government School Students Who Excel in High School Leaving Certificate Examination and Higher Secondary Examination" for the year 2024-25, organised by Department of Education (Schools) at the auditorium of Manipur State Film Development Society (MSFDS), Palace Gate, here, on Wednesday, Prashant Kumar shared his personal experiences of attending school award ceremonies and pride and joy parents feel when their children succeed.

Outstanding Govt schools honoured with incentive award

He mentioned that the state's incentive scheme, which was introduced in 2018, provides financial support to top-performing students.

The chief secretary also informed that at the state level, the first to fourth position holders will receive Rs 5,00,000, Rs 4,00,000, Rs 3,00,000, and Rs 1,00,000, respectively.

For district level, students securing the top two positions will receive Rs 50,000 and Rs 25,000 respectively.

While acknowledging participation of students from remote districts via video conference, he also congratulated all 58 awardees, including 47 attending in person.

The chief secretary then praised the 58 awardees, especially the 45 students from schools enrolled under the School Fagathansi Mission, a government initiative aimed at strengthening the education sector.

He recognised their dedication and hard work, and highlighted the impact of government initiatives in improving government schools.

"Their achievements showed that students from all backgrounds are striving for academic excellence," he said.

Prashant Kumar also commended the role of teachers and education department officials in guiding the students and shaping future leaders, while encouraging students to ask "how" and "why" to deepen their understanding and develop critical thinking.

He further assured of government's efforts to improve the education system and bring government schools on par with private institutions.

In his address as the guest of honour, secretary (Edu-cation/S) N Praveen Singh stated that the cash incentive scheme was introduced in 2018 to support students in government schools who achieve high marks in Class X and XII examinations.

He mentioned that with the introduction of the grading system in HSLCE from 2024, the incentive would now be awarded only to Class XII students.

He noted that most students in government schools come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and maintained that the scheme was designed to provide financial assistance to support their education and motivate them to excel academically.

Presiding over the function, Education (S) director Ng Bhogendra Meitei pointed out that Manipur currently has 1,921 government schools but faces a significant shortage of teachers, with only 51.96 per cent of the required teaching staff in place.

He further noted that 382 schools operate with only a single teacher, despite healthy rate of enrolment of students.

Among these, 316 fall under the Education (S) Department, 26 under Tribal Affairs & Hills, and 40 are government-aided institutions.

Additionally, the Samagra Shiksha initiative is supporting 2,902 schools across the state, he mentioned.

The Incentive Award Ceremony honoured five state awardees namely Aiena Naorem of Kakching Higher Secondary School, who topped in Commerce stream and four students of TG Higher Secondary School, namely Sapam Langlel Chanu (second in Arts), Khwairakpam Crosia Devi (10th in Arts), Kethallina Maisnam (2nd in Commerce) and Khwairakpam Jenita Devi, who achieved fifth position in Commerce.

Meanwhile, 58 district awardees were recognised, with 47 receiving their awards at the main event and 11 joining virtually.

There were no students joining in from Chandel, Pherzawl and Senapati districts as none could secure 70 per cent.

Students from Churachandpur, Kangpokpi and Kangpokpi district joined the event virtually and were handed over the awards by the DCs concerned.

A total of 29 students from the hill districts and 34 from the valley, of 21 government schools received the awards, with 16 of the schools listed under School Fagathansi Mission.

The event was also attended by Education (S/ Valley) additional director Bineshwar Khumukcham and Education (S/Hills) additional director Dangmei Manglem along with students and parents among others.