PILOT PROJECT APPROVED FOR EXPANSION
OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
DR.
JOSHI TO LAUNCH SCHEME AT PRABHAVATI SMARAK SCHOOL IN BALIA TOMORROW
The project for
speedy expansion of secondary education to un-served areas will
begin in Balia with the laying of foundation stone of the building
of Prabhavati Devi Samarak Rajkiya Balika Inter College by Minister
for Human Resource Development, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi tomorrow.
The project lays particular emphasis on ensuring substantial enrolment
of girls. The Centre has sanctioned Rs. 1.5 crore for the school,
to be spent over the next five years. The school, located in a
backward rural area of Balia District in Uttar Pradesh, is named
after the wife of late Shri Jai Prakash Narayan.
The Balia project
is a pilot project. In the long term it would become a model for
central support for secondary schools in other backward areas
of the country, with funds being made available under the 10th
Plan.
Extending access
to secondary education by setting up new schools in the un-served
areas and by extending and consolidating the existing facilities,
with particular emphasis on ensuring substantially increased enrolment
of girls has been laid down in the Programme of Action of the
National Policy on Education. It has been felt that additional
intervention from the government is necessary in this regard as
private participation in the secondary education sector has been
limited to urban areas, that too unaffordable for the poor. Keeping
this in view the Planning Commission has accepted the recommendation
of the working group on secondary education for launching a scheme
on ‘access with equity’ in the 10th Plan. The Balia
project is the first one under the scheme, to be followed by more
projects in other Districts and States based on the experience
with this pilot project.
The project is being
administered by the Managing Committee of the School which is
headed by an educationist, Dr. Subodh Narayan Tiwari and includes
the District Magistrate as a member. An amount of Rs.61 lakh has
been released to the Management Committee in September, 2003 for
construction of additional building and procurement of equipment
such as computers, furniture etc. The Managing Committee shall
on completion of the financial year submit a proposal for release
of 2nd instalment for the year 2004-05. Since emphasis
is being laid on ensuring substantial enrolment of girls, a girls’
hostel is proposed to be constructed for those coming from distant
places. Ministry of HRD is closely monitoring the project.
