PM SHRI SCHEME | Centre rejects Government schools identified for special assistance citing poor infrastructure standards

Srinagar: In a shocking revelation, it has come to light that a significant number of government schools in Jammu and Kashmir, which were initially identified for infrastructure improvement under the prestigious Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme, have been rejected by the Ministry of Education (MoE) Government of India (GoI).

The reason cited for their exclusion has been stated that these schools failed to meet the necessary standards, primarily due to their deplorable infrastructure.

A top official said that the majority of the schools initially earmarked for development under the PM SHRI scheme were either operating in rented accommodations, while others were functioning from severely dilapidated rooms.

Around 230 schools were initially identified across J&K for strengthening and upgradation of the infrastructure under the PM SHRI Scheme of schools.

The decision was taken during the maiden Project Approval Board (PAB) meeting convened by Economic Advisor School Education and Literacy (SEL) on May 10, 2023.

Principal Secretary J&K School Education Department (SED) Alok Kumar, Project Director J&K Samagra Shiksha, and Director School Education Kashmir and Jammu divisions besides other officials of the department attended the meeting.

Under the scheme, each school is entitled to a grant of Rs 50 lakh for strengthening and upgradation of the infrastructure besides taking up other innovative initiatives as well.

“But the Ministry of Education has turned down the list of the schools submitted by the J&K SED as the majority of these schools did not meet the standards and did not fulfill the parameters to get grants under the scheme,” said a top official privy to the development.

The revelation has raised serious questions about the claims of successive regimes about improving infrastructural standards in government schools.

In the wake of the rejection of schools by the Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) in MoE, Principal Secretary J&K SED Alok Kumar on Wednesday convened a high-level meeting with all the officers regarding the implementation of the PM SHRI scheme for the selection of schools, out of the proposed schools in the second round.

As per the meeting notice, the meeting was attended by the Director of School Education in Kashmir and Jammu divisions, Director of Finance SED, Project Director of J&K Samagra Shiksha, Secretary of J&K Board of School Education, Joint Director (Planning) SED, and all Chief Education Officers (CEO).

An official who was part of the meeting said that the Principal Secretary of SED was furious at the CEOs over the selection of the schools without following the mandatory parameters devised for the scheme.

“He (Alok Kumar) expressed his dissatisfaction over the move and censured the CEOs for not taking the implementation of the scheme seriously,” the official said.

The Principal Secretary said that the department was not only meant for the transfers but the officers had to play their role in other issues as well.

“The basic reason for disappointment and rejection of schools by DSEL was that the CEOs had enlisted those schools which were either operating from rented accommodations or were being run two to three shabby rooms,” the official said.

He said that there were around 100 parameters set by the MoE to select the schools for assistance under the PM SHRI scheme but CEOs in J&K, particularly Kashmir had randomly selected the schools.

“Some schools do not have land available for the construction of buildings while some schools do not have other resources available. During the meeting, CEOs were directed to submit the revised list of schools by Monday, October 9,” the official said.

The PM SHRI schools scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on September 5, 2022, to develop more than 14,500 schools across India.

Through this scheme, the already existing schools would be selected, strengthened, and upgraded to deliver quality teaching to enhance the cognitive development of the students.

As per the policy document, the schools selected under the PM SHRI scheme would showcase the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and emerge as exemplary schools over some time.

The duration of the scheme is proposed to be from 2022-23 to 2026-27 after which it would be the responsibility of the states and union territories to continue to maintain the benchmarks achieved by these schools.