On an ambitious project, the Srinagar district administration will upgrade 180 government-run schools as “smart schools” by equipping them with modern amenities and learning tools.
The overall objective of the project is to improve the learning outcome of public schools and bring them at par with private schools. A dedicated team has been constituted for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the project, to be completed within six months at a cost of Rs 6 crore.
Under the project, a part of the Jammu and Kashmir government’s ‘Back to Village’ programme, the administration will upgrade infrastructure of these schools and improve learning outcome through a range of interventions, including capacity building of teachers.
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Some of interventions being made are refurbishing of buildings where required, upgrading of furniture and equipment, round-the-clock power and water supplies, and establishment of libraries, science laboratories, IT labs and smart classes, the officials said.
They said other highlights of the project are HR management, capacity building and training of teachers, continuous evaluation and society involvement, sporting infrastructure and games, skills labs, and innovation grant.
Before embarking on upgrade of the 180 schools — 120 in urban areas and 60 in rural areas of the district — the administration conducted a pilot project and modernised 25 schools during the last fiscal.
Srinagar Deputy Commissioner Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said the project was close to his heart and added that everything necessary would be done for modernising the schools.
