Ever since I came into public life, I have been surprised to see the quality of talent in our poor children. At the same time, I feel sad when I see the yearning for education in the eyes of these children, who could excel in every sphere if only they were given an opportunity to arm themselves with skill and education. This is as true for children from rural background as for those from urban areas. If there were one thing I would like to be remembered for, it would certainly be my love for these children and my commitment to creating conditions in which each one of them can have an access to education.

Sadly, however, education has not received the kind of attention it deserves. Governments and society must share the blame here. On one hand, education does not find the requisite space in government policy-making and long-term planning, and on the other, society itself has often neglected it in favour of more materialistic goals, like ceaseless pursuit of wealth and power.

In Punjab, the situation is really worrisome. Long years of neglect by governments have resulted in a situation where even the basic infrastructure is missing. If there are schools, there are no teachers. We have now undertaken a recruitment process and hope to fill up the vacancies soon.

The worst affected is this situation are the children from poor families. During all my four terms as Chief Minister of Punjab, it has been my constant endeavour to do something for their education. I started the Adarsh School scheme in one of my earlier terms, but this time, I have shifted my focus to make it relevant especially for the poor and the meritorious children. We have also decided to set up Adrash Schools in every Assembly constituency in the state.

Since the emphasis is on quality education, we have decided to involve the corporate sector in this endeavour of social commitment. A total of 117 such schools are to be set up, and the number will grow subsequently. Talented children from poor families would be provided access to the kind of quality education their luckier counterparts get in public schools, especially in the urban areas. No fees would be charged and children would also be provided all necessary facilities required for studies free of cost.

Besides the corporate sector, certain mainstream educational houses have also come forward to make a contribution. This is being done as an extension of the corporate social responsibility of the big business houses, and I am grateful to them for having responded to my call for the noble purpose.

Apart from these schools, the Government has also taken up the task of upgrading at least three existing schools in every constituency. This would mean that a total of 351 schools would be upgraded and provided with every requisite facility, such as science laboratories, sports infrastructure etc. Learning of English language would also be accorded high priority.

Despite these efforts, I would admit that a much more comprehensive and larger initiative is called for to lift school education from its present state of paralysis, especially in the villages. The Government, on its part, will not spare any effort in pushing the programme for educational transformation of the state. But for a truly educated and forward looking society, capable of taking on the challenges of the modern day globalised environment, we need to go beyond the Government and turn education into the central component of our social commitment. We need to start a war against illiteracy among the poor.

In absence of that, all our development plans and schemes for socio-economic progress would come to a naught. Education is the basic requisite for survival. Everyone who loves Punjab and the country must do his bit to promote education. Sponsor a poor child, give voluntary hours for education of poor, spread awareness about the dangers of a dark and uneducated generation — any contribution in any direction would be a sacred offering at the altar of godliness. Vidiya vichaari, ta par upkari.