BENGALURU: The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has instructed all state governments to schedule a tour plan for schoolchildren. This will give children an opportunity to visit prestigious institutes across the nation such as Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). This programme is meant for only Class 9 students because according to experts many drops out of school during or after SSLC.
An annual tour is aimed at encouraging students to perform well in their board exams. “Many students do not have any idea about IITs, IIMs or any other premier institute. Introducing kids to such institutes will definitely attract them towards academics,” an official said.
For this programme, MHRD is spending `1,500 for each student under Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan. “Many discontinue their education at the SSLC level. If they are aware of where they can study if they perform well in SSLC, we hope there will not be any dropouts,” the official said.