Maharashtra: 846 schools to be built under 'PM SHRI' scheme

Mumbai: In an important decision, 846 schools in Maharashtra shall be comprehensively developed under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India’ scheme launched last September, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said here on Tuesday.

The state has signed an MoU with the Centre for the purpose under which the National Education Policy 2020 will be implemented here.

In the first phase, over 15,000 schools in India — including 846 from Maharashtra — shall be developed into foremost institutions providing high-quality education for students.

Under the PM SHRI, the Central government will provide Rs 1.88 crore, and the state will allocate Rs 75 lakh for each school for five years in a 60:40 partnership with the state.

For the 846 schools, the Centre will provide an amount of almost Rs 956 crore while the state will give its share of Rs 634.50 lakh for implementing the scheme.

In the second phase of the PM SHRI, schools from 408 groups, 28 municipal corporations, and 383 from other civic bodies shall be selected for development.

Shinde said that students shall be imparted experiential learning through these schools, and will be assessed on the basis of their conceptual understanding plus the application of the knowledge in real-life situations.

Even former students of the schools shall be involved with these schools to provide career guidance and educational support to the students, and in case of dropouts for any reason, such students will be main-streamed by re-admission.

The PM SHRI schools will be developed primarily on 6 major pillars, like Curriculum, Pedagogy, and Assessment; access and infrastructure; Human Resources and School Leadership; Inclusive practices and beneficiary satisfaction; management, supervision, and administration; and Beneficiary satisfaction.

The implementation will be through a committee headed by the school education minister at the state level and by other officials like CEO, municipal commissioner, etc., at the district and civic levels.