Schools of Happiness project seeks to transform govt primary schools

Amritsar, March 20

After the announcement regarding transformation of 100 primary and elementary schools in the state as Schools of Happiness, work on the upgrade of these schools has begun in each district. In Amritsar, there are approximately 1,417 primary schools (as per the data compiled in 2019-20), including various clusters and zones.

The announcement is a significant push towards improving infrastructure in primary schools that were functioning with bare minimal facilities and suffering from an acute shortage of staff. Until last year, the recruitment and appointments of ETTs in primary schools had been held up for the last 10 years, prompting protests by ETT teachers. In the Chogawan, Ramdass and Ajnala blocks which are in the border belt, primary schools with student intake between 700-1,000, had one or two teachers and lacked basic building infrastructure and toilets.

The Schools of Happiness will have well ventilated classrooms, dedicated play areas, resource rooms and activity corners. The budget allocated is Rs 10 crore for the purpose and each school will also follow zero-vacancy policy in teaching staff, like in Schools of Eminence.

Apart from that, the government has proposed to launch Mission Samarth to impart essential skills to primary and upper primary students with an allocation of Rs 10 crore. Further, Rs 35 crore for providing uniforms to pre-primary students has also been earmarked.

The announcement comes after the much talked about Schools of Eminence across the state are already in the process of being upgraded. The pilot project launched last year, promises to upgrade several smart schools in the state, offering exclusive state-of-the-art learning as well as infrastructural facilities for students of Classes 9-12. The School of Excellence on Mall Road in Amritsar has two modern labs with technology-based teaching methods and a library with 10,000 books. All academic streams are available. Coaching is provided to students for competitive exams that include JEE, NEET, NDA, CLAT and CUET.

Similarly, the Schools of Excellence at Jandiala Guru, Chheharta and Town Hall have security guards, CCTV surveillance, campus manager to manage activities, smart classrooms with dual desks, smart classrooms with K-Yan and projectors. Soft boards have been installed inside and outside classrooms for displaying interesting and relevant subject-related information for students. IT infrastructure, Wi-Fi facility, subject related wall graphics, smart playgrounds with indoor gymnasiums and school commute service is offered in Schools of Excellence, making them an upgrade over other government smart schools.