Jalandhar, June 10 -- Punjab governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Monday said teacher training is important for building the nation's future. Chairing the Punjab vice chancellors and directors' conference at Lovely Professional University, he said, "The school-level education lays the foundation for a student's life as the learning at this stage remains with the pupils throughout their lives. Therefore, the preparation and professional training of teachers becomes very important for building the nation's future." During the conference, a discussion was held on the National Education Policy 2020 proposed by the central government under which an Integrated Teacher Education Program (ITEP) is to be launched. Under this policy, the B.Ed course, which earlier followed graduation, is proposed to be made into a four-year programme. The governor stated that the new education policy emphasises making teacher training more scientific and systematic. He said that the Punjab government is also taking several initiatives to implement this new policy, and many universities in the state have already started the new course. Additionally, Kataria held meetings on NAAC grading and the drug problem in the state. Meanwhile, Rajya Sabha member Ashok Kumar Mittal, founder chancellor of the LPU, said the university was honoured to have hosted such a dialogue on higher education. Kataria also participated in a Vijay Yatra and paid tributes to the Pahalgam victims. "India will not hesitate to take the strictest military action against any terrorist threat," he said....