STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Highlighting the importance of newspaper reading for students to become the future leaders in their chosen fields, Principal JK Public School Kunjwani Rajesh Rathore addressed the teachers of the school and shared his views with the intellectual audience.
“Reading newspaper daily is a great habit that equips and empowers every reader with the latest in the world. It’s a potential tool to keep oneself abreast of time. Its educational value is phenomenal. It carries plethora of information regarding the latest happenings in the world, what all is going on in the country, town & nearby areas”, he reflected.
“The front page covers all the major national news items. That’s the reason: why some of the news items on the front page are ended with a phrase “CONTD ON PAGE 3/5/7/9. Regular reading of newspaper keeps a reader well informed. One gets to know about the sequential development of every national or international happening”.
“Major meetings, chaired by the Hon’ble LG of J&K, are covered on the front page. “Children must take a note of the policy decisions & developmental plans of the Govt. They must be well-informed about the facts and figure. Having a natural flair for jotting down the budgetary allocations for different departments is a must for every well-informed future leader”, added the Principal.
“Students of Secondary classes (IX&X) and Sr. Secondary (XI&XII) classes must be familiar with the names of the bureaucrats of J&K cadre. When a comprehensive list of major reshuffle of IAS, IPS, JKAS or JKPS officers is published in the newspapers, then younsters shouldn’t sound completely ignorant. Names of Principal Secretary/Commissioner Secretary of various departments should be on the finger tips of the senior students”.
“Like-wise, they must be familiar with the names of the top cops, namely, DGP, ADGs of various departments, IG Jammu & Srinagar, DIG of various ranges of Jammu division & SP/SSPs of all the districts of Jammu division. Students should also be familiar with the starring on the shoulders/vehicles of the police officers”.
“It will be worth appreciating, if every school prepares a comprehensive board to be displayed at a strategic location on the school campus with details of major administrative positions of the UT of J&K and their current incumbents”.
“Newspapers cover all the major global news items pertaining to international relations, diplomatic ties, business ventures etc. It keeps students informed about the names of the global leaders and international agencies”.
“Casting a glance on the page, covering all the Business news items at national & global level is a must. Equipping children in the domain of financial literacy is expected from every futuristic institution. Profit/loss of various top MNCs in Q-1 is expected from the GenNext. Every student must be well-versed with the economic terms, namely, GDP/GNP/ current inflation rate/progress of India towards attaining $5 trillion economy target by 2024-25 etc”.
“Sports news items are covered brilliantly by all the newspapers. Sports correspondents, being creative geniuses, compose press release with special flavours, whether it be cricket, soccer, basketball, volleyball, tennis, swimming, track & field events or any other sports discipline. A conscious reading of sports columns may inspire young sports enthusiasts to venture into the sphere of Sports journalism”.
“Editorial page of the newspapers holds prime importance for those students, who are serious aspirants for the UPSC exams, grooming themselves as future writers, journalists , columnists etc. Main articles, editorial comments, letters to the Editor with esp emphasis on maintaining the high standard of expression in English make it an extremely sought-after page for the language lovers”.
“Every household must subscribe to a leading daily in English. No magazine may be compared with a newspaper, as newspapers are quite reasonable, all encompassing & full of variety. Schools & teachers must impart a proper training to students on how to utilize this potential resource. A regular reader of a newspaper is a walking encyclopaedia with variety facts & figures on his/her finger tips. IAS aspirants must maintain variety box files to stack articles, editorial comments, letters to the editor, interviews, mind your language, off d’ cuff, speaking tree etc. No child, studying in an English medium school, should try to borrow a newspaper from the neighbourhood. Ask yourself: Have I subscribed to any newspaper in English?”, summed up the Principal.