Money sanctioned for ‘smart’ schools’ maintenance

Naina Mishra

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, July 20

The Department of Director General School Education (DGSE) disbursed funds amounting to Rs484.41 lakh for 60 urban area smart schools on Thursday in the second phase for maintenance and colour coding.

The department had selected 259 government schools across the state to be converted into smart schools, of which 26 schools are from Ludhiana.

The schools would be transformed through colour coding, landscaping and drawings. It had been told to transform school gate as per the colour coding to draw symmetry. In the first phase, 199 rural government schools were granted Rs1,596.02 lakh for classroom repair/maintenance, toilet repair, construction of boys’ toilet, landscaping in schools and colour coding.

A grant of Rs40,000 per school had been given for landscaping and Rs3 lakh per school for colour coding. For the construction of toilets, Rs1.18 lakh per toilet has been sanctioned.

The colour coding and landscaping work have already been started in many districts. Government High School, Wara Bhai Ka Village in Faridkot, has been transformed into a train. The school was painted in train bogeys with the help of school staff and villagers.

“Many schoolteachers are already working for landscaping and colour coding that gives an impressive look to the campus. This is a chance given to schools to beautify the campus with the help of financial aid. A Smart School Committee has been constituted and the decision for other developments will be taken collectively,” said Krishan Kumar Education Secretary.

The school heads have been told to change their school name to Government Senior Secondary Smart School.

While smart schools have been sanctioned a grant for the repair and maintenance, some of these schools are reeling under paucity of infrastructure, teachers and dilapidated school structure.

Students of Government Senior Secondary School, Dhandari Khurd, that has been selected as a smart school sit in verandah as classrooms are in a shoddy condition. “The condition worsens in the monsoon. A few rooms were declared unsafe by the PWD. Now again, some more rooms are not fit to take classes. So, students sit in the verandah and study. Now that the funds have been sanctioned, we will at least start some work of maintenance. Something is better than nothing,” said a teacher.

Under the ‘smart school’ project, schools will be equipped with digital monitors, high-speed internet facility, projectors, tablets, state-of-the-art laboratories and infrastructure for sports activities. The ‘smart schools’ will run on solar power and science and mathematics will be taught in English.