Lays foundation stone of 54 school buildings

Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 03: Kerala Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today dedicated 90 schools as Centres of Excellence as part of a drive to protect the public education system in the State. He also laid the foundation stone of 54 school buildings to be constructed as part of this campaign.

In his inaugural address through video conferencing, the Chief Minister said, “Of the 90 Centres of Excellence, four buildings have been constructed at a cost of Rs 5 crores with funding from KIIFB, 20 buildings were built a cost of Rs 3 crores, 62 buildings were built using plan funds and four buildings were constructed with assistance from NABARD. 34 new school buildings would be constructed at a cost of Rs 3 crores each with KIIFB funding and 20 buildings at a cost of Rs 40 crores from the plan fund.”

The schools with modern facilities that were inaugurated today are spread across the State – two each in Pathanamthitta and Kasaragod districts, three each in Kottayam and Ernakulam, four in Wayanad, five in Idukki, six each in Kollam and Palakkad, nine in Kozhikode, ten each in Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram, eleven in Thrissur and twelve in Kannur.

Three buildings each are being constructed in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Kottayam, Palakkad and Kasaragod districts, four in Pathanamthitta, two in Ernakulam, seven in Malappuram, nine in Kozhikode and 17 in Wayanad.

“The changes in the field of school education were implemented keeping in mind the next generation. In the past, society discussed the closure of government schools but now that they have become centres of excellence, the number of students coming to study here has also increased. Five lakh new students have joined government schools in the last three years”, the CM said.

The aim of the Public Education Protection campaign is to make government schools as centres of overall excellence. The move was supported by local bodies, people’s representatives, teachers, parents, alumni and other interested parties. The public education campaign has changed the old mindset of society about government schools.

“Students in Kerala can proudly say that the facilities available here are at par with the best centres anywhere in the world. Steps have already been taken to make schools and classrooms high-tech”, he added.