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14 states sign pact for upgradation to PM-Shri schools
On September 7, the Union Cabinet approved the ₹ ₹27,360 crore scheme for upgradation of 14,500 schools across the country over the next five years
Fourteen states and Union territories have signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with the education ministry to upgrade their schools under the Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme that was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 5, ministry officials said.
On September 7, the Union Cabinet approved the ₹ ₹27,360 crore scheme for upgradation of 14,500 schools across the country over the next five years. Of the project’s total cost, the Centre’s share would be ₹18,128 crore, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
The scheme is expected to benefit 1.8 million students, and ensure schools serve as model institutes and encapsulate the spirit of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Till Thursday, 14 states and Union territories signed MoUs and agreed to implement NEP in its entirety, with the Centre laying down the commitments for supporting these schools to achieve specified quality assurance as PM SHRI schools, a senior ministry official said, seeking anonymity.
The Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) have also signed up for the scheme, the official added.
“The MoU signing is the first stage. The states have to go through the next two stages before the final selection of schools. The upper limit for each state is two schools per block,” the official said.
The states and Union territories which entered into the agreement with the Centre are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
More states are in talks with the ministry and will soon sign the MoUs, the official said.
“Many states are finalising their MoUs and are in constant touch with the ministry. We firmly believe the scheme will ensure focused attention on quality education at the school level by providing high quality teaching and learning to the young learner,” the official said.
The selection for PM-SHRI schools will be done through a “challenge mode” wherein schools will compete to become “exemplar schools”, according to a statement issued by the government earlier.
“The schools (are) required to self apply on an online portal. The portal will be opened four times a year; once every quarter, for the first two years of the scheme,” it said.
The selection process will comprise three stages with definite timelines. In the first stage, states or Union territories would agree to implement NEP in its entirety with the Centre laying down commitments for supporting schools for achieving specified quality assurance.
In the second stage, a pool of those eligible to be selected under PM-SHRI will be identified based on prescribed minimum benchmarks.
As part of the third stage, schools from this (shortlisted) pool will then compete to fulfill the commitments. The fulfillment of conditions will be certified through physical inspections.
