KORAPUT: Seventeen Government high schools in Koraput will witness a complete overhaul of infrastructure under the high school transformation project of 5T initiative on a mission mode. These schools are located across 13 blocks in the district.
Collector Md Abdaal Akhtar visited different schools recently and held meetings with the stakeholders like teachers, PRI members and alumni in this regard. The initiative, Akhtar said, is a long-term transformation plan. In the first phase, 17 high schools have been identified in the district for revamp. A blueprint has been prepared taking into consideration community participation which is the prime aspect of the programme.
The community comprising gram panchayat, school management development committee and alumni members would be involved in developing their respective schools. In the later phase, the community will ensure revamp of the teacher training system and students learning programme. A 5-year vision document of their schools has also been prepared. The government has decided to operate these schools from October 2.
Under the programme, schools will have aesthetically-designed classrooms, furniture, smart boards, staff rooms, laboratories, libraries and sports facilities. The students of Class IX and X will be given priority for e-learning. The Collector said, the initiative’s objective is not to compete with private school infrastructure but provide quality education to rural children.
The respective gram panchayats and alumni will provide funding on a long-term basis for infrastructure development like labs with modern facilities, smart classrooms and e-modules to make learning attractive. The State government’s ‘Mo School Abhijan’ would look after the funding aspects of the programme. Besides, the existing PSUs and Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) would provide financial assistance through district mineral fund (DMF) for the aspirational transformation of schools.
District education officer Ramachandra Nahak said in view of the recent announcement of the State government about 15 per cent reservation of seats in engineering and medical colleges for students of government high schools, it is essential to provide quality education to rural children.
“The goal will not be achieved overnight rather it will be a continuous process,” he said. Akhtar said Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and 5T Secretary VK Pandian would interact with the stakeholders through video conferencing on April 19 on the aspirational transformation of schools.