Last Updated on December 20, 2021 at 10:52 am
The non-establishment of model schools in Jammu and Kashmir over past many years has raised eyebrows. Even the detailed project reports have not been submitted by the concerned authorities.
An initiative launched 12 years ago by the Ministry of Human Resource Development to establish model schools with modern infrastructure in the erstwhile State’s educationally backward blocks (EBBs), but not even a single school has been established yet. The EBBs were to be selected based on female rural literacy rate being below the national average and gender gap in literacy being above the national average.
For this purpose, a total of Rs 43 crores was allocated and central government providing 90% of the financing in the form of grants and the State likely to contribute the remaining 10%. Around 100 model schools were selected as part of the program to provide additional classrooms, a science lab, a library, a computer lab, an art/craft/culture room, toilets, and drinking water facilities, among other things.
Nearly 3500 quality good schools were to be built under the scheme all over India. Most of the schools across India have been made operational but J&K is yet to complete even the DPR, which shows the seriousness of the concerned authorities.
Though concerned officials are claiming that work on the DPR is on progress and documents will be submitted shortly, but the reason for delay of 12 years still remains a question.
In many far off areas of the former state the authorities have put on sign boards in schools and declared them as model schools. But nowhere has the required infrastructure been established under the scheme.
