U.P. govt to renovate dilapidated secondary school buildings; proposal gets cabinet nod

LUCKNOW As part of its ongoing efforts to improve educational infrastructure, the Uttar Pradesh government has decided to renovate old and dilapidated secondary school buildings of the state. Private schools will also benefit from this scheme of the government.

According to the proposal, 75% of the renovation cost will be borne by the government and the rest 25% by the school management system. The plan has already been approved by the Council of Ministers, said finance minister Suresh Khanna at Lok Bhavan on Tuesday.

Amended an older plan

Elaborating on the proposals passed in the meeting of the council of ministers, finance minister Suresh Khanna said that the government had come up with similar scheme last year as well, according to which 50% of the renovation cost was to be borne by the government and the other half was to be looked after by the school management. However, due to the indifference towards this scheme, the government has now amended the older scheme and decided that it would provide 75% of the cost.

The school management also has the liberty to use their CSR funds for meeting 25% of the renovation cost of school buildings. Besides, money can also be arranged from MP and MLA funds for the ambitious project.

Schools more than 50 years old to be renovated first

Khanna added that under this scheme, the government will first rejuvenate schools that are more than 50 years old. After such schools are repaired, 40-year-old and 30-year-old schools will be covered. Under the scheme, special attention will be paid to the construction of floors, roofs, and separate toilets for girls, among other things. The government will release funds for this scheme in three installments in the ratio of 40:40:20. The objective of the scheme is to provide a safe place of study to the school students.

Separately, the state cabinet on Tuesday gave its approval for establishment of six private universities in Uttar Pradesh — including Krishna Mohan University, Mathura, Major SD Singh University, Fatehgarh, Farrukhabad, Agravan Heritage University, Agra, SDGI Global University, Ghaziabad, Vidya Vishwavidyalaya, Meerut, and Mahavir University, Meerut.

The cabinet also approved revised guidelines in relation to cooperative grant scheme for renovation, repair, reconstruction, construction and infrastructure facilities of non-government aided secondary schools and payment of gratuity to the family members of teachers of non-government aided secondary schools in case of untimely death before their retirement age.