Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' on Friday inaugurated five new Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) and 13 Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs), besides a National Navodaya Leadership Institute, through video-conferencing from here.
The minister also laid the foundation stone for nine new JNVs and 13 new KVs.
"The construction work of these JNVs has already been completed and the construction work of new schools where foundation laying has been done will be completed in the next two years. The estimate cost of construction of these works is Rs 417.06 crores," he said.
Of the five new JNVs that were inaugurated on Friday, two are in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur and Kashiram Nagar, two in Gujarat's Navsari and Dang, and one in Odisha's Malkangiri area. The new Leadership Institute is in Odisha's Puri.
Among the 13 new Kendriya Vidyalayas, three are located in Assam, two in Gujarat, two in Madhya Pradesh and one each in Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Telangana.
"The quality of the JNVs is reflected by the fact that many students who have passed from JNV are working successfully on the strength of their talents in all the prestigious fields like IAS, medical and engineering. Last year, around 4,451 students successfully qualified in JEE Mains, 966 students in JEE advance and 12,654 students in NEET. In addition to this, 12 students have got admission in international universities in the last three years," Pokhriyal said.
There are 661 sanctioned JNVs in the country to provide quality education to the meritorious children of rural areas. These schools are co-education, fully residential and run by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti through eight regional offices.
"The construction work is going on at a fast pace in 37 new permanent campuses and the construction work of 12 new schools are likely to be completed in the financial year 2019-2020," the minister said.