BHUBANESWAR: Over 1,500 schools will be transformed during the fourth phase of the state government’s 5T high school transformation programme by December this year.This was informed by School and Mass Education commissioner-cum-secretary Aswathy S during the 40th executive council meeting of ‘Mo School Abhiyan’ on Wednesday. The transformed schools will be equipped with smart classrooms, well-developed e-libraries, state-of-the-art laboratory-cum-interactive science centres, advanced sports infrastructure and child-friendly campuses.
Chairing the council meeting, Aswathy asked officials concerned to complete the fourth phase work before the December deadline. So far, the state government has implemented three phases of the programme and all the high schools in the state will be covered by the end of the fourth phase. There are 5,051 government and 3,264 government-aided high schools in Odisha which provide education from Class I to X to more than 72 lakh students. Around 1,075 schools in the first phase, 2,906 in second phase and 1,816 in third phase so far have been transformed.
“High schools that have undergone transformation under Odisha’s 5T high school transformation programme are delivering exemplary results. Be it increased participation of the students at national level sports and debate competitions or their interest in exploring the newer world of coding, the programme has given wings to cognitive skills and athletic spirit of the blooming minds. Taking the legacy ahead, the state government has decided to transform all high schools of the state by December this year with modern infrastructure and advanced facilities,” she said.
The secretary also took stock of implementation of school clubs in all government high schools of the state and held discussions on development of programme framework for club activities. ‘Mo School Abhiyan’ will organise consultation meetings with its stakeholders and expert organisations to develop materials and framework for Kaushali, Kridangan, Jigyansa and Sahitya Srujani clubs.
Proposals worth Rs 529.56 crore of 30 districts were approved in the meeting. Within the last month, a total of 7,358 alumni have joined hands with ‘Mo School Abhiyan’ and contributed Rs 6.66 crore for development of their alma mater. The scheme has received grants worth Rs 165.05 crore from various CSR funds. Coupled with the donors’ contribution, CSR funds and a two-time matching grant from the state government, the executive council has approved projects worth Rs 165.05 crore which will be used for development of 2,402 primary, upper primary and high schools across the state.
The alumni have contributed Rs 2.04 crore in Balasore, Rs 60 lakh in Ganjam, Rs 48.13 lakh in Cuttack, Rs 47.43 lakh in Balangir and Rs 38.87 lakh in Bhadrak districts respectively. Till date, 7.90 lakh alumni have contributed financially under ‘Mo School Abhiyan’.