Ranchi, Oct. 30: In a bid to improve the education scenario in the state, the human resource development department has decided to appoint 18,000 more primary teachers, besides introducing new initiatives to draw more girls in vocational courses.

HRD minister Bandhu Tirkey today said: “The request to Jharkhand Public Service Commission for appointing 18,000 primary teachers would be sent after the chief minister formally announces the decision at the Foundation Day celebrations on November 15.”

In order to increase the number of girls under- going vocational courses, the department would sign MoUs with NIIT, XISS and ISM, Pundag.

These institutes of repute would provide vocational training in computers, tailoring, beautification and other such courses exclusively to girls. The delibera- tions with NIIT are in the final stage, Tirkey said.

The human resource development department has decided to provide one-year courses in different vocations to 1,500 girls, including 500 each from the Muslim and tribal community, 300 belonging to the Scheduled Castes category girls and 200 from general category.

The girls would get the vocational training for one-year “free”. The state would spend about Rs 4.5 crore on them, he said.

Tirkey also said that 550 students, including boys and girls from the primitive tribes and Scheduled Tribes and Scheduled Castes, have been selected for computer courses at NIIT, which is likely to start in the last week of November.

In yet another initiative, the HRD department has decided to give midday meals to students of madarsas in rural areas.

“We have decided to extend the midday meal scheme to madarsas in rural areas having at least 50 students on their roll so that poor boys have some initiative to come to the classrooms regularly,” he said.

Talking about his dream project of using gliders to lure students to classrooms, Tirkey said chief minister Shibu Soren would inaugurate the project of offering joyride or flight on gliders to select students on November 10 at Dumka.

Under this scheme, students of Class III to V with at least 70 per cent attendance and placed among the top 10 students in their respective school would be taken for a flight on gliders, said the HRD minister.

“We have selected 200 such students from every district for a ride on gliders. The glider will be made available for five days in a month in every district. This project will cost an estimated Rs 42 lakh,” Tirkey said.

“Our thrust is on drawing more and more students to classrooms and to encourage girls to take up vocational courses,” Tirkey said.