Shimla, Nov 23: To bridge the "urban-rural" divide in education, the Himachal Pradesh government has decided to introduce English in schools from Class I in the coming academic session and implement the Rs 533 crore programme for "universalisation of elementary education". "The teaching of English from primary level would help the people in rural areas, especially the poor and the down-trodden, to shed their complex and gain courage and confidence to compete with the students of public schools," an official spokesman said.

The decision would also help in preventing the exodus of students from government schools to private schools, he said.

The teachers would be imparted special training for teaching of English from primary level and it would be ensured that quality of teaching was not compromised. The state was embarking on universalisation of elementary education by ensuring that every child in the age group of 6-14 years was enrolled in the school and a move was afoot to bring a legislation, making it mandatory for the parents and wards to send all eligible children to primary school, the spokesman said.

The Rs 533-crore Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (universalisation of elementary education) would focus on education of girls, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other weaker sections.

The government has also decided to serve hot cooked mid-day meals to the students in the tribal areas to check dropout of students and it was yielding positive results, he added. Bureau Report