Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, launched Mission Schools of Excellence under which, classrooms will be modernized and computer laboratories will be set up in Gujarat schools in five years.
Under the Rs 5,000-crore project, 50,000 classrooms will be built in addition to 1.5 lakh smart classrooms, 20,000 computer laboratories and 5,000 Atal Tinkering labs.
In poll-bound Gujarat, where election dates are likely to be announced in the next couple of days, Modi’s address at Tri-Mandir in Adalaj, Gandhinagar was an indirect answer to allegations by Aam Aadmi Party, a new entrant in the state, over the quality of education in government schools of Gujarat and the infrastructure.
A few months ago, the AAP, under Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, began campaigning in Gujarat with a prime focus on education. They alleged that what the AAP has been able to do in the field of education in Delhi in seven years, the BJP hasn't been able to do in Gujarat in 27 years.
Modi said that through Mission Schools of Excellence, the new education policy is being implemented on the ground level in Gujarat.
Without even taking the name of any political party, Modi said that two decades ago the situation in Gujarat was such that 20 out of 100 children did not go to school. He recalled that as the chief minister of Gujarat, he went to villages and held the hands of the children and took them to the schools.
He said that the last two decades have seen a turnaround in the field of education in Gujarat-- 1.25 lakh classrooms were built and two lakh teachers were recruited. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014.
The Prime Minister said that Gujarat is emerging as an innovation hub and Mission Schools of Excellence will give it a boost.
In Gujarat, he said, new things are implemented first. Modi gave the example of the Children’s University and a central centre where activities in government schools can be tracked in real-time and feedback can be given.
The Prime Minister said that the recently launched 5G technology will give a boost to virtual education. “If 4G is a cycle then 5G is an aeroplane. I will put it this way if I am to explain it to a villager,” he added.
He said that under the Rs 27000-crore pilot project PM Shree Schools are to be set up across the country.
The PM is on a two-day visit to Gujarat and the grapevine is that the election dates can be announced after his tour.
