Shimla, July 29 -- Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that the newly established CBSE Schools would emerge as the best educational institutions in the state in the next five years. While presiding over the foundation day function of Bishop Cotton School in Shimla on Tuesday, the CM said that the state government was committed to provide equal opportunities for every child. "As part of this vision, English-medium education has been started from Class I in government schools and 156 government schools have been affiliated with the CBSE, yielding encouraging results and leading to an increase in enrolment of more than 24,000 students," said the chief minister. Sukhu said that Himachal Pradesh is best suited for education as the state is student's friendly and education friendly. He said that Bishop Cotton School is not merely an educational institution but a living tradition of excellence, leadership, discipline and character-building. It has nurtured generations of young minds and has remained a beacon of quality education, he added. Recalling his personal association with the institution, he said that during his college days' he came to BCS on numerous occasions to participate in cricket tournaments, therefore, shares a special bond with this school. He further said that when one speaks of Shimla's most distinguished institutions, Bishop Cotton School commands a place of honour. Its alumni have excelled across diverse fields in India and abroad, bringing laurels to the institution and making meaningful contributions to society, he added. He said that quality education was not a privilege for a few but the fundamental right of every child, adding that Himachal Pradesh has achieved the historic milestone of becoming a fully literate state with a literacy rate of 99.30%. This is not merely a statistic but a reflection of our collective commitment to education, he added. Earlier, the CM laid a wreath on the memorial of the founder of the school, Bishop George Edward Lynch Cotton and also hoisted the school flag....