Raigad Zila Parishad to honour teachers, students in Mahad for the first time

Raigad Zila Parishad has organised its first grand award ceremony for ideal teachers and meritorious students in the historic town of Mahad in South Raigad. The event will be held at the auditorium of the Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar National Memorial on Thursday, September 10, at 11 am. The education committee chairman of the zila parishad, Chandrakant Kalambe, gave this information at a press conference in Mahad on Tuesday.

At the event, 16 ideal teachers from the district along with 322 scholarship-holding students will be felicitated. Kalambe said that institutions that cooperate with various zila parishad activities will also be honoured in the coming days. To resolve the problem of vacant teaching posts in the district, more than 350 teachers will be adjusted in the next few days, with priority given to filling vacancies in South Raigad. Of the 125 vacant posts in Mahad, around 100 will be filled through this adjustment process, he said.

In this connection, bhajan literature will be distributed to around 1,200 bhajan groups of the district in Mahad on September 12. Kalambe said consideration is also underway to revive the discontinued Raigad Bhushan award and hold its ceremony in Mahad.

Speaking on the issue of school electricity bills, Kalambe said schools in the district are currently being billed at commercial rates. Talks are underway with the government on this, and there is a plan to prioritise installing solar energy systems in more than 100 schools in the district. Zila parishad member Nilesh Tatare, local in-charge Gat Shikshanadhikari Rajan Surve and Primary Education Officer Sanjay Naikade were also present at the press conference, held at the Mahad office of the Public Works Department.

Kalambe said that most Raigad Zila Parishad programmes have so far been held only in the Alibag, Pen and Panvel areas. However, after guardian minister Bharat Gogawale took charge, it was decided to hold important district programmes in South Raigad as well, particularly in historic Mahad.

Responding to a reporter's question, Kalambe said further measures will be considered regarding student safety and accidents during field competitions. Reviving the discontinued sports fund will also be considered at the government level. He also said there would be no compromise on the quality of the school mid-day meal, and that if any irregularity is found in grain supply, the contract of the concerned contractor will be cancelled.