Haryana Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma was the chief guest.

Prominent speakers included J. D. Sharma, former Commissioner, Education Department, Punjab; V. P. Dubey, former IAS officer; Anurag Aggarwal, Assistant Deputy Commissioner of Panchkula; V. P. Dubey, IAS officer; and Alok Mittal, Superintendent of Police.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister announced that a committee comprising educationists and policy-makers would be constituted to make required changes in the present education system.

While mother tongue should be the medium of primary education, moral education must be stressed upon in the present system, he said.

J. D. Sharma said that the education system must be decentralised and not remain in the hands of the government. Rural schools should be handed over to panchayats and local bodies. Regular checks must be carried out to maintain standard of education in schools, he added.

While stressing that primary and middle schools should not be run by the government, the former commissioner said that importance should be given to primary and elementary-level education.

Quoting a Chinese proverb,``One year of travel is equal to five years of university'', Sharma said that students must be encouraged to travel and gain experience.

While pointing out that Punjab and Haryana were far behind in the field of education, Dubey said that not even 10 per cent of the Schedule Caste women were literate. He said that social welfare organisations should come forward to improve the standard of education.

Mittal, while stressing on the decentralisation of primary education, said that at least 6 per cent of the state budget should be spent on education. He added that schools should be handed over to panchayats.