JALANDHAR – Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal on Friday exhorted Punjabi Diaspora to establish NRI schools across the state for connecting their future generations with their roots.
Addressing a gathering during the second Non-resident Indian (NRI) Sangat Darshan program here on Friday, the chief minister said through their hard work and dedication, Punjabi NRIs had proved their mettle across the globe.
Unfortunately, younger generations of the Punjabi diaspora have become somewhat detached from the land of their forefathers due to which there was a need to reverse this trend by making all out efforts in this direction, he said, adding that this goal could be achieved only if the NRIs take the initiative of opening NRI schools across the state.
The chief minister said that these schools should be built exclusively for NRI students and should be run by management comprising NRIs.
He said the standard of these schools should be on par with the schools being run in foreign countries so that the NRI kids could be imparted high-end school education.
“The NRI students must study in these schools for at least five years, so that they could be acquainted with the rich cultural heritage of their parental land,” Badal noted.
Listing out the initiatives taken by the state government for NRIs in the state, Badal said the Punjab government has decided to set up separate NRI cell in every district across the state for facilitating them in getting their routine administrative works done smoothly.
He said the deputy commissioners of every district would be asked to provide a separate room for this cell in the respective district administrative complexes (DACs).
Likewise, the chief minister said he has asked the state home secretary to review the list of NRI proclaimed offenders (POs) so that no injustice was done to innocent NRIs.
Badal further said the revenue department has started a statewide campaign for the division of property falling in joint accounts of families, and it has been asked to complete this task by March end.
