Rajasthan makes newspaper reading mandatory in government schools

Jaipur | Desk: The Rajasthan government has launched a new initiative to improve reading habits and general knowledge among students in government schools. Reading and discussing newspapers has now been made mandatory in all government schools across the state. The Education Department issued guidelines in this regard on December 31.

Under the new system, every school will purchase at least two daily newspapers. Secondary and senior secondary schools will be required to have two newspapers each in Hindi and English, while upper primary schools will have at least two Hindi dailies. This rule will also apply to English-medium schools. The cost of the newspapers will be borne by the Rajasthan School Education Council in Jaipur.

According to the guidelines, at least 10 minutes will be allocated for reading newspapers during the daily morning assembly. During this time, students will read the newspapers themselves, and teachers will read out important news to them. A discussion on the daily news will also follow.

The government says that the aim of this step is to increase students' vocabulary, develop a regular reading habit, and raise awareness of current events. It will also help students prepare for various competitive examinations in the future.

The guidelines also state that teachers will select at least five new words from the newspaper every day and explain their meanings to the students. This will improve language skills. Students will be encouraged to read national news, as well as sports and international news. Older students have also been advised to read the editorial page.

It is worth noting that the Uttar Pradesh government had previously implemented a similar system in its government schools. The Rajasthan government's initiative is now being considered a positive step in the education sector. (Symbolic Photo)