80 Schools of Excellence Inaugrated: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren inaugurated 80 government Schools of Excellence on Tuesday to provide education on par with private schools. He also pledged to appoint 25,000 teachers by the end of the month to fill vacant teacher posts in the state.
These 80 district-level Schools of Excellence are part of the government's commitment to providing quality education opportunities to 15 lakh schoolchildren studying in government schools. In the second phase, the state plans to establish 325 block-level schools and 4,091 gram panchayat-level model schools across the state. The chief minister launched the 80 schools from Thakur Vishwanath Shahdeo High School in Dhurwa.
"These schools will provide education at par with private players and would help poor students and others fulfil their dreams," said Soren. He cited the Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Jharkhand's Khunti district, where 10 students have qualified for the JEE (Main) 2023, as an example of the excellent performance of government school students. Soren also said that the state is committed to providing all necessary support to students of such schools, including smart classes, modern education tools, and felicitation for those excelling.
Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh emphasized the need for periodic monitoring of schools to maintain their quality, and he suggested developing a system where students could provide feedback without disclosing their identities. Post-normalization of the situation after the COVID-19 pandemic, the chief minister directed officials to ensure the completion of school construction and obtain CBSE affiliation.
The statement also mentioned that all students in these 80 Schools of Excellence would receive vocational training in 11 trades, including agriculture, IT, ITES, apparel and make-up, home furnishing, media and entertainment, automotive, tourism and hospitality, beauty and wellness, multi-skilling, electronics and hardware, retail, and healthcare. The schools will provide modern amenities to government schoolchildren so that they can get an education on par with private schools, said Department of School Education and Literacy Secretary K Ravi Kumar.
