Jaipur, Jan. 2 -- The Rajasthan education department has issued directions to introduce a mandatory 10-minute newspaper reading session during morning prayer assemblies in government schools. The initiative aims to enhance students' awareness of national, international and sports-related developments, while also cultivating a regular reading habit among them, officials said. In this regard, the department has issued instructions to all deputy directors of secondary education and district education officers (secondary), asking them to ensure strict implementation of the guidelines in all government schools. The directives states, every government senior secondary school will be required to subscribe to a minimum of two newspapers - one in English and one in Hindi. Similarly, every government upper primary school must arrange for at least two Hindi-language newspapers. In all English-medium government schools, at least two newspapers - one English and one Hindi - will be mandatory. During the prayer assembly, students will read excerpts from one national-level English newspaper and one national-level Hindi newspaper. Students will be divided into class-wise groups and assigned to read out key editorials and major news developments related to national, international and sports affairs. The responsibility of presenting important editorials and news will be given to students from Classes 6 to 12 on a rotational basis. On the day of their presentation, the concerned class will be required to arrive at school 30 minutes before the scheduled time to compile important news items from newspapers and prepare for the reading session. To strengthen vocabulary, students will also select and present five new words from the newspaper each day during the prayer assembly. The department believes this step will significantly improve students' general knowledge, vocabulary, social awareness and also help them prepare for competitive examinations. Additionally, on the sixth working day, a collective assembly will be organised to facilitate discussions on current affairs and governance-related activities. Under the ongoing "Reading and Remedial Education Campaign", the first two periods allocated for reading activities will include newspaper reading, spelling exercises and dictation. The department has clarified that newspapers should be procured only on days when schools are operational. The expenditure required for newspapers in government schools will be borne by the Rajasthan School Education Council, Jaipur. Education officials said the initiative is expected to transform prayer assemblies into meaningful learning platforms, promoting informed thinking, language development and awareness of current events among students across the state....