Chandigarh, July 12 - Haryana Chief Minister Shri Nayab Singh Saini stated that students are the future of the nation and urged them to stay away from drugs while actively contributing to realizing Prime Minister’s vision of a Developed India.
The Chief Minister was addressing as the chief guest at the Meritorious Students Felicitation Program organized in Panchkula to honor the toppers of Class 10th and 12th at the state and district levels.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister honored 275 students who excelled at the state and district levels across all faculties and boosted their morale.
The Chief Minister said that the Haryana government is continuously working to improve infrastructure in the education sector. Significant progress has been made not only in school education but also in higher education over the past 10 years. 
He highlighted that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the double-engine government of Haryana has worked towards establishing medical colleges in every district of the state to provide better healthcare services and address the shortage of doctors. 
He noted that medical colleges have already been established in 15 districts, with others under construction. Additionally, to ensure girls have access to higher education, the government has set up degree colleges every 20 kilometers so that they do not have to travel far for education.

Special Incentives for Scheduled Caste Students-
Chief Minister Shri Nayab Singh Saini announced that meritorious students will be specially honored. The government has decided to award Rs. 1,11,000 as a prize to Scheduled Caste students scoring above 90 percent in Class 12th.
Encouraging the meritorious students, the Chief Minister said that children are the future of the nation. Through education and culture, their holistic development must be ensured so that they can courageously face future challenges. He emphasized that bookish knowledge alone is not enough for a successful life; students should also be provided with moral and spiritual education. The Chief Minister reiterated the state government’s commitment to making the next generation educated, virtuous, healthy, and skilled.
Shri Saini noted that over the past 10 years, significant steps have been taken to bring transformation and progress in the education sector. Several welfare schemes have been launched for students, with a special focus on improving school infrastructure. This includes play-based learning, project-based learning, continuous evaluation, and education through new technologies.
The Chief Minister highlighted that under the able guidance of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the New National Education Policy has been formulated to take 21st-century India to new heights in the fields of knowledge and science. The state has set a target to fully implement this policy by 2025, although the national timeline is 2040. The policy aims to provide professional and skill-based education to students from Class 6 onwards. So far, this system has been implemented in 1001 schools.
Regarding pre-school education, the Chief Minister said that concrete efforts are being made in this area as well. There are 4,081 Anganwadis located within school complexes in the state. Additionally, 1,418 government model cultural primary schools have been established. 
Schools in the state have been divided into 1,415 clusters, ensuring the availability of Science, Commerce, Arts, and other streams in each cluster. Since 2018, the Super-100 program has been running to provide special coaching to meritorious students from government schools for competitive exams like IIT-JEE and NEET.
The event was attended by MLA Shakti Rani, Panchkula Mayor Kulbhushan Goyal, Haryana School Education Board Chairman Dr. Pawan Sharma, former Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, BJP District President Ajay Mittal, along with other dignitaries, parents, and teachers of the meritorious students.