Sandeep Mishra
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, Oct 5: Even though the new academic session is already underway, construction of as many as 269 models schools out of the total 314 proposed to be set up in each block of the state is yet to near completion.
As per the deadline set by the state government, at least 111 schools in various economically backward blocks of the state should have been functional by the beginning of this academic session.
An official report accessed by Orissa POST reveals that out of the 111 model schools the state government has taken up in the first phase, construction of only 45 has been completed so far while that of 60 others is in progress. Work on six model schools is yet to start. Similarly, construction work on 45 of the 51 model schools the government has taken up in the second phase is in progress while work on six such schools is yet to begin.
Of the rest 152 schools, Tata Steel has pledged to construct 30, Orissa Mining Corporation (OMC) 25 and Jindal Steels 10. There are no takers yet for the rest 87 schools. The Union ministry of human resource development had decided in 2009-10 to set up 6,000 model schools in the country – 3,500 through the government of the states and the union territories, and the rest 2,500 in public-private partnership mode. The ministry asked the state governments to either construct new buildings or renovate and convert old school buildings to be model schools.
Officials of the school and mass education department say work on the model schools project is going on at a comparatively good speed. “We have completed all formalities ranging from formation of a society to finalisation of recruitment rules for model schools, besides provision of staff quarters and other related work. We are trying hard to complete the project on time,” said a senior official.
In a recent high-level meeting of the school and mass education department, development commissioner UN Behera had cited 12 model schools, for which construction had not started, and asked the officials to ensure work starts on them soon. He had also urged the officials to find corporate houses willing to take up the 87 model schools that remain untouched.
In the meeting the DC also empahsised on completing 28 model schools taken up in first phase by October and another 28 by December. He further stressed on completing the 45 schools taken up in the second phase by June 2016.
As per the latest estimates put out by school and mass education department, nearly 100 schools are likely to be functional by the 2016-17 academic session and another 100 by the 2017-18 session. However, no timeline was set for the rest 114 model schools.
Since the provisions of the model schools require accommodation facilities for the staff, the state government has decided to provide them temporary residences near the schools. But no work has started in that direction, said sources. According to some officials, the whole project may take another three to four years to be fully operational in the state.
