Mumbai, May 5 (PTI) The Maharashtra cabinet on Tuesday approved upgradation of 24 aided ashram or residential schools run by voluntary organisations to improve educational opportunities for tribal students.
The decision, taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, is aimed at reducing dropouts among tribal students, especially girls, by enabling them to continue education within their local areas, officials said.
Five primary ashram schools will be upgraded to secondary schools and 19 secondary schools will be upgraded to junior colleges, said an official statement.
The cabinet also approved creation of necessary posts of teachers and other staff and allocation of funds for this purpose.
At present, there are 556 aided ashram schools run by voluntary organisations in the state, including 37 primary schools (Classes 1 to 7) and 319 secondary schools (Classes 1 to 10), along with 200 attached junior colleges (Classes 11 and 12). These institutions cater to 2,61,836 students (1,40,254 boys and 1,21,582 girls) and are located mostly in remote, hilly and naxal-affected regions.
Under the latest decision, 30 regular teaching posts and 25 multi-purpose staff posts will be created for the upgraded primary schools, while 148 teaching posts will be sanctioned for the 19 new junior colleges.
In another decision, the cabinet approved the setting up of a new government engineering college in Solapur by upgrading the existing Government Polytechnic. The new institute will be renamed as Government Institute of Engineering and Technology, Solapur, and will start three degree-level courses from academic year 2026-27.
The courses -- Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Computer Science and Engineering, and Electronics and Telecommunication -- will have an intake of 60 students each.
For the new institution, 39 teaching posts and 38 non-teaching posts (22 regular and 16 outsourced) will be created in phases. The cabinet also approved an estimated expenditure of Rs 157.66 crore over four years, along with Rs 11 crore for immediate infrastructure repairs and other requirements.
The cabinet also decided to transfer the management of Shri Tuljabhavani Engineering College at Tuljapur in Dharashiv district, currently run by the Shri Tuljabhavani Temple Trust, to the state Higher and Technical Education Department. The move is aimed at strengthening the institution and providing better infrastructure and quality engineering education to students in the region, the statement said.
The institution will be renamed as Shri Tuljabhavani Government Engineering College, Tuljapur. The government approved creation of 118 posts (60 teaching and 58 non-teaching). Existing staff will continue under the trust, and vacant posts will be filled by the government as per procedure.