CEC Feroz Khan hails 17000ft Foundation for improving education system in remote areas of Ladakh

Attends Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) program organized by 17000ft Foundation in Kargil

Kargil, Feb 17, 2023: Chairman/CEC, LAHDC, Kargil, Feroz Ahmad Khan today attended the concluding ceremony on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) organized by 17000ft Foundation in Kargil and praised the spirit of the foundation in improving the education system in remote areas of Ladakh, particularly in Kargil district.

The CEC was the chief guest while Joint Director Information, Ladakh, Imteeaz Kacho was the guest of honour. Program Officer ICDS Kargil, Nargis Banoo, Chief Education Officer, Kargil, Mushtaq Ahmad, Principal DIET, Kargil, Abdul Qayum, District Head Operations 17000ft Foundation, Zakir Hussain, all Zonal Officers of Kargil besides teachers, Sarpanches and volunteers attended the program.

On the occasion, the CEC spoke about various pilot projects of the 17000ft Foundation at different locations of Kargil that have improved quality education in the district.

Khan praised the spirit of 17000ft Foundation members for improving the education system in the remote areas adding that teachers and other volunteers from Kargil also need such spirit for boosting the education, especially at the primary level.

The CEC said recruitment of highly qualified teachers from the last five years is a major step in this direction. He said encouragement for students as well as teachers is important for improving the system adding that community participation is must.

Khan said protecting the school buildings and other govt. infrastructure by the community is also a step forward for the system to work properly.

The CEC said the programs of 17000ft focus on upgrading school infrastructure, providing better learning resources, training teachers, mobilizing communities and demonstrating success to further support the Govt. to bring in systemic reforms in education.

He said LAHDC Kargil is committed to boost the education sector in the district and the organizations like 17000ft get support and help to further improve the gaps.

The CEC instructed the School Education Department to focus on skills of students so that they develop interest in studies. He said besides studies, students should be involved in physical activities that will help to refresh their minds and to better understand the lectures in classes.

Khan also appreciated and thanked the 17000ft foundation for implementing such kind of pilot projects in Kargil that have improved the education system in the region.

At the event, the Joint Director Information, Imteeaz Kacho also expressed gratitude to the 17000ft foundation for its progressive and productive work in entire Ladakh.

He said the organization opened the eyes of education system and the public regarding the criteria of providing quality education to children.

Kacho said teachers and students of Kargil are praiseworthy and the administration needs to channelize them in a proper way for quality education. He said teacher-student physical interaction is must for better education and socialization. He said students should be involved in various activities to develop interest among them in attending school regularly.

On the occasion, Chief Education Officer, Kargil spoke about betterment of education system in the district and appreciated the infrastructure provided by the foundation in various schools of Kargil.

Regarding the teachers’ training, he said it was the major step of 1700ft for improving the education system in Kargil adding that the rationalization policy will be discussed on priority and will be improved if there are any further gaps in its implementation.

Program Officer ICDS, teachers and other volunteers also shared their views regarding the progressive approach of the 17000ft Foundation towards education system of Kargil.

Earlier, District Head Operations 17000ft Foundation, Zakir Hussain, explained various pilot projects that have been implemented in Kargil over the past 10 years. In a presentation, he showed various productive works in terms of improving infrastructure, training the teachers etc. in the government schools.

Zakir said 17000ft started its journey in Ladakh in 2012 and over these years it has adopted and transformed over 25 percent of Govt. schools spread across inaccessible and remote villages. The foundation with its hard work demonstrated success in improving student learning and reducing student migration.

He said the foundation is committed to improve access and quality education in Govt. Schools in the remotest and the most challenging villages of the Indian Himalayan Region to ensure that no child is forced to migrate away from their families for quality education.

Sajjad Ali Zehdi presented welcome speech and conducted the program proceedings. Later, the guests distributed certificates to the volunteers involved in the projects of 17000ft Foundation in Kargil. In the end, Zakir Hussain (District Head Operations 17000ft Foundation) presented vote of thanks.