Sarkari schools in vogue for parents in Panipat dist

Admissions to government schools has been witnessing a rise in the district for the last three years. This year, so far, over one lakh students have taken admissions in government schools.

As schools re-open after summer vacations, Education Department officials and government schools have upped efforts — working to match the standard of education in private schools — to maintain the upward trend.

In this regard, department officials have, again, begun the Shiksha Rath drive, which was launched in the district last year, and aimed to reach out to parents and attract them towards government schools.

According to available data, there are 416 government schools in the district, of which 243 are government primary schools, 49 middle schools, 26 high schools and 98 are government senior secondary schools. Of the senior secondary schools, 13 are exclusively for girls students. Seventy-nine of the government schools are in the Bapoli block, 69 in Israna, and 78 in Madlauda. As many as 114 government schools are in the Panipat block, while 76 are in Samalkha.

In the 2023-24 session, the total student strength in government schools was recorded at 1,03,191 in the district. In the 2024-25 session, the strength stood at 1,09,425 — indicating government schools’ growing popularity among parents of school-going children.

This year, despite the admission process still being underway, the number of students stands at over 1.03 lakh.

According to data, Panipat district ranks third in the state on the basis of number of students in government schools.

There are five Model Sanskriti Schools and 11 PM Shree Schools in the district.

According to sources, several applicants have even turned to approaching ‘high-level individuals’ to get admissions in these schools.

Special attention is being paid to the level of education in these schools, with government teachers having to appear for a test to be appointed to these.

The classroom strength in these schools is not more than 40 students — signalling growing efforts to increase the quality of education in government schools.

Rakesh Boora, District Education Officer (DEO), said people’s trust in government schools had been increasing for the last two-three years.

Nineteen government schools of the district were affiliated to the Central Board of School Education (CBSE), Boora noted, adding that government school teachers were making efforts to compete with private schools. Under the Shiksha Rath campaign, Boora and teachers had been physically reaching out to parents in various localities of the district, exhorting them to send their children to government schools, he added.

According to the DEO, the campaign is being organised in two slots — from 7 am to 9 am; and from 5pm to 7pm (after office hours).

Haryana Tribune