Chief minister Hemant Soren felicitated toppers of class 10 and 12 board exams on Thursday by presenting cheques worth Rs 1 lakh to each student for meritorious performance and also presided over the launch of two digital teaching platforms to improve the quality of online education in government schools.

Hemant assured the government’s support to all the meritorious students of Jharkhand, asking them to aim high and strive for success in academics. “The government stands by your side. We will support meritorious students of our state in achieving success. Very soon, the government will also provide foreign scholarships to students of our state,” he said.

This year, more than seven lakh students appeared for class 10 and 12 exams conducted by Jharkhand Academic Council (JAC), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISC) in Jharkhand.

On July 22, the Jharkhand Cabinet decided to give away cash awards of Rs1 lakh to each of the toppers of class 10 and class 12 in a bid to encourage them to pursue higher goals. As per a document shared by the HRD department, as many as 38 students were felicitated.

The government launched two digital platforms – Digi School and Learnytic 2.0.

While Digi School will be used for online classes for students of classes 1 to 8, Learnytic will make online education easier for students of class 9 to 12.

Through the Learnytic app, students will get access to e-books, sample question papers with answers, and audiovisual aids, something that was ill now restricted to private schools of Jharkhand.

Officials of Jharkhand Education Project Council (JEPC) said the apps were much needed for government school students as online classes using WhatsApp were quite challenging for teachers. Students will have to get registered on the two apps, using their school credentials, and get access to all the study materials.

Besides giving away cash prizes to toppers, Hemant also felicitated at least eight government school students, who found berths in IITs and medical colleges after preparing through Jharkhand’s Akansha project. Under the project, the government provides free coaching to meritorious students of government schools to help them crack JEE and NEET exams.

Hemant also conferred Mukhyamantri Swaccha Vidyalaya awards to nine schools for maintaining cleanliness and hygiene on campuses. Representatives of Government Public School, Kutmu, Lohardaga; Government Public School, Gopalpur Deoghar; Rajkiya Madhya Vidyalaya, Kaswagarh, Bokaro; Government Madhya Vidyalaya Lohardaga; Rajkiya High School, Amlabad, Bokaro; Yogada Satsang High School, Jagganathpur; KGBV Senha, Lohardaga; Samarth Residential School, Golmuri, Jamshedpur and Saraswati Vidya Mandir School, Gumla were felicitated by the CM at project building in Ranchi. The schools were awarded with cheques ranging between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh depending on their performance.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, another 110 schools, which were supposed to get felicitated in Ranchi, were given the awards at ceremonies organised in their respective districts on Thursday. “Due to Covid-19 restrictions, all of you could not attend the event. However, I thank everyone participating in the ceremony via online platforms for joining us today,” said Hemant.

Talking about the glorious past of some of the reputed schools in Jharkhand, Hemant said that Netarhat School in Latehar had produced more than 2000 IAS officers. “We feel proud that schools of such high stature are imparting education to our children,” he added.