Chandigarh, May 6 -- The UT administration will introduce skill-based courses across all government schools, equip classrooms with digital infrastructure and fast-track teacher recruitment as part of a roadmap to strengthen the education ecosystem, chief secretary Rajesh Prasad said on Monday. Chairing a high-level review of the education department, Prasad assessed the performance of school, higher and technical education and outlined key priorities to make the system more future-ready. The meeting was attended by education secretary Prerna Puri, director school education Nitish Singla and director higher and technical education Palika Arora, who presented an overview of achievements, infrastructure development, implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and progress in skill development. Officials highlighted the city's strong performance indicators, including a high Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Gender Parity Index, along with consistent national rankings of its institutions. The chief secretary directed that skill-based courses be rolled out in all government schools to improve employability and align education with industry needs. He also called for smart classrooms in all schools to promote digital learning and modern teaching practices. Reviewing school-level initiatives such as UDAAN and SHIKHAR coaching programmes, the SAATHI mental well-being initiative and the Adopt-a-School programme, Prasad emphasised the need for strengthening foundational learning and student support systems. He also directed the introduction of a comprehensive Child Tracking System to map children aged 3 to 18 years and ensure zero dropouts. Taking note of vacancies, he instructed officials to expedite teacher recruitment, particularly for Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) and Junior Basic Training (JBT) posts, to improve student-teacher ratios and learning outcomes. At the higher and technical education level, the chief secretary stressed the need for stronger industry linkages, directing ITIs, polytechnics and colleges to collaborate with at least two to three industry partners each for better training, apprenticeships and placements. He also asked the department to phase out obsolete courses and introduce new-age programmes in areas such as artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles (EVs). The administration also plans to modernise infrastructure in technical institutions, including upgrading laboratories and integrating digital tools, to support innovation and quality education. Prasad further directed regular meetings of state higher education councils to ensure effective governance and called for all institutions to be developed as "Institutes of excellence" through continuous improvement in research, infrastructure and academic standards. The chief secretary said a coordinated and time-bound approach will be adopted to implement these measures and build a future-ready education system in Chandigarh....