Teachers, students join hands for 'Swachh Bharat Abhiyan' - Times of India

PUNE: The peons and non-teaching staff in several city schools were in for a pleasant surprise on Thursday as teachers and students picked up the brooms to clean the school premises in response to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call for a 'Swachh Bharat'.

The schools organized a special cleanliness drive on Wednesday as Gandhi Jayanti will be observed as a holiday on Thursday. While some schools felicitated the non-teaching staff, others gave a day's break to them while teachers and students cleaned the school premises.

Medha Pandit, principal of SPM (secondary) English Medium School, said: "We took all the non-teaching staff, including peons and helpers, for a lunch and gave them a day's break from routine work thereafter. They were also felicitated during the morning assembly. Students cleaned the school premises as part of the dignity of labour exercise."

Rashmi Deshmukh, vice-principal of Renuka Swaroop Memorial Girls High School, said: "The students were engaged in cleaning every classroom and other spaces in the school throughout the day on Wednesday. Areas were divided and students were allocated work accordingly. They also dusted all the furniture, computer machines, science laboratory equipment among other things as part of the PM's cleanliness campaign." The school will conduct a cleanliness drive on Thursday as well where as many as 10 teachers along with non-teaching staff will clean the school premises, she added.

Ashwini Bhide, state education secretary, said schools have been asked to maintain cleanliness as per the instructions of on Swachh Bharat Swachha Vidyalaya Abhiyan given by

the Union government. Swachh Bharat Swachh Vidyalaya Abhiyan, a central government initiative, will be conducted till October 31.

"This is an invocation to participate in the cleanliness drive. There is no compulsion and schools that are traditionally open on October 2 for a short while will pay remembrance to Mahatma Gandhi with a brief programme on Thursday," Bhide said.

We took all the non-teaching staff, including peons and helpers, for a lunch and gave them a day's break from routine work thereafter. Students cleaned the school premises as part of the dignity of labour exercise

http://ift.tt/1kDt8Zr Swaroop Memorial Girls High school,Rashmi Deshmukh,Prime Minister,Ashwini Bhide state education secretary

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