Under the government's ambitious Mission Schools of Excellence 2.0, infrastructure upgradation is being undertaken in about 5,000 government and aided secondary and higher secondary schools in the state to benefit over 17 lakh students, Gujarat Education Minister Kuber Dindor told the Assembly on Tuesday. Sharing details on the budget allocation in the year 2023-24, he further added that funds worth Rs 3,500 crore were allocated for the infrastructure overhaul in government and grant-in-aid primary and secondary schools. Around 15,000 new classrooms have been already constructed and the construction of another 15,000 new classrooms is in progress under the project, he further shared. While infrastructure upgradation has been completed for 25,000 classrooms, a revamp is in progress for another 45,000 classrooms, the minister underlined. “Under the Mission Schools of Excellence, more than 65,000 smart classrooms have been built and another 43,000 smart classrooms are due to come up. More than 5,000 computer labs have been constructed and another 15,000 computer labs will be ready. To ensure quality education in schools, a total of 22,349 Vidya Sahayaks and Gyan Sahayaks have been appointed in the year 2023-24,” he added. Partially funded by the World Bank, Mission Schools of Excellence aims to improve education in the state by improving infrastructure facilities. Moreover, 162 new government and 10 Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) secondary schools will be started in the state from the year 2024-25, the minister informed. The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is a flagship scheme of the central government to enhance access to secondary education and improve its quality. “Fifty-five more Gyan Shakti Residential Schools and five more Raksha Shakti Schools will be started in the state in the year 2024-25 to provide the best quality residential education and residential military education to bright students of class 6 to 12,” Dindor stated. On fewer students opting Science stream after Class 10, the minister stated that Namo Saraswati Yojana will be started from the year 2024-25 to promote education in Science courses. A total of Rs 520 crore has been provided for the year 2024-25 under various schemes covered under Namo Saraswati Yojana in one of the highlights of this year's Budget.
