Hoshiarpur:- Member of Parliament (MP) from Hoshiarpur, Dr. Raj Kumar Chabbewal, personally met Union Power Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar and strongly opposed the proposal to hand over DAV Public School, Talwara, being run under the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB), to private educational institutions.
Dr. Chabbewal said that this decision would make the future of nearly 1,200 students studying in the school uncertain. He stated that the school has been providing affordable and high-quality education to students from Punjab and Himachal Pradesh for over four decades. He pointed out that a large number of students studying in the school belong to families who had sacrificed their land, homes, and livelihoods during the construction of the Pong Dam.
He said that the school has a glorious academic legacy, and many of its alumni are serving the nation in prestigious institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), ISRO, the defence services, civil aviation, and missions such as Chandrayaan.
Dr. Chabbewal termed it a “serious irony” that despite record electricity generation from the Pong Dam, the BBMB is describing the school as a financial burden. He said that this proposal has created an atmosphere of deep concern among students, parents, and teachers, adversely affecting not only education but also mental health.
He informed that for the past six months, students, parents, and teachers associated with the school have been continuously holding peaceful protests to save the institution. The MP urged the Union Minister to maintain the existing management structure of the school and immediately withdraw the decision of privatisation.
Dr. Chabbewal said, “The future of children cannot be compromised in the name of financial instability. Institutions like BBMB DAV Public School are not an expense, but an investment in nation-building.” He expressed hope that the Central Government would take a sensitive and far-sighted decision, keeping in mind the educational rights of students and the sentiments of the people of the Talwara region.