Tripura Education handed over to local self-governments

Agartala, Jun 20 (UNI) After Village Panchayats, the Left Front government in Tripura has decided to entrust the management of primary and pre-primary education in urban localities of the state to Nagar Panchayats and Agartala Municipal Council.

Addressing newspersons here today, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said in the ongoing drive for development and decentralisation of power, the state government had already given the authority of looking after the education system in the remote rural areas to the Panchayats.

Following the policy of empowering the local self-governments, the state cabinet yesterday decided to delegate the power of managing education systems to the urban councils in their jurisdiction, Mr Sarkar said.

Earlier, the state government had handed over seven departments, related to human and natural resources, to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) and the three-tier Panchayats, vital to the development of the rural and ADC areas.

''The state government has made a well-planned and prolonged endeavour to make the ADCs and Panchayats a dynamo of development and democracy at the grassroots level in the state,'' Mr Sarkar said.

He added that his government aimed at handing over the primary and social education departments to the urban local bodies and the departments of forest, horticulture, animal resources, fisheries and water resources to the ADCs by the end of June.

The fund management, as well as the deployment of manpower, student admissions and mid-day meals would be entirely looked after by the Panchayats and the ADCs respectively, while appointment of employees would continue to be in the hands of the Education Department, the chief minister clarified.

In connection with the transfer of employees, the local self-bodies would forward their proposals to the state government.

The Left Front government has long been following a policy of entrusting the departmental duties to the ADCs and local self-governments.

Many such local bodies were already participating in several sectors of primary education, including the mid-day meal scheme, Mr Sarkar claimed.

Besides, the cabinet had decided to offer free education at the college level in government institutions and provide pensions of Rs 300 per month to about 44,140 persons, the chief minister informed.

UNI