A trip to Vietnam, Cambodia for govt school students

As many as 50 meritorious students from government schools will embark on an exposure-cum-education tour to Vietnam and Cambodia shortly. The first-ever exposure trip abroad for the government school students will be sponsored by Samagra Shiksha through the World Bank-aided Strengthening Teaching-Learning and Results for States Programme (STARS). The week-long tour will cost around Rs 6 crore.

“Himachal is the first state to arrange foreign exposure trips for its teachers and students through STARS. Other states like Punjab are funding such trips from its exchequer,” said Rajesh Sharma, State Project Director, Samagra Shiksha.

Sharma said the students would learn about the culture and the history of these two countries during the tour. “Vietnam has an inspiring history of its war against the US. To learn firsthand how this tiny country gave nightmares to the mighty US will be really inspiring and motivating for the students,” said Sharma.

“Besides, it is said that Vietnam drew inspiration in its war against the US from the guerilla warfare of Chhatrapati Shivaji. It will be another interesting anecdote for the students to explore on this trip,” said Sharma.

In Cambodia, the students will visit the famous ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples. “Travelling in itself is a huge learning experience. Most of the students will be visiting airports and flying for the first time. They are going to cherish this weeklong trip for the rest of their lives,” said Sharma.

For this tour, only the students of XI and XII will be eligible. To ensure that only the most deserving students are picked for the trip, the Education Department has set stringent selection criteria.

According to Amarjeet Sharma, Director, Higher Education, the students will be picked on the basis of their academic performance in the Class X board examination and co-curricular activities like sports, NCC and cultural programmes. “We will pick 50 students from Class XI and Class XII. While 40 students, 20 each from Class XI and Class XII, will be picked on the basis of marks scored in Class X, ten spots have been reserved for students excelling in sports, NCC and other co-curricular activities,” said Sharma.

The Education Department had sent teachers to Singapore last year on an exposure trip. “It turned out to be a good tour for our teachers. Similarly, our students will get good exposure from this trip,” said Sharma.