Punjab, AP take corporate help to model schools

THE OTHER INDIA

After central model schools like Navodaya and Kendriya vidyalayas, states are coming up with their own version of model schools with help from the corporate sector.

Leading the initiative are Punjab and Andhra Pradesh. While Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal last week announced plans to set up 100 Adarsh schools in partnership with the private sector, the Andhra Pradesh government has invited corporates, NGOs and individuals for partnerships to set up rural residential schools in each mandal.

The attempt in both the cases is to take modern school education, specifically English-medium education, to the villages.

Badal said he had roped in leading business houses like Bharti, Gujarat Ambuja, Oswal, MGF, DLF, Unitech, Ranbaxy, Trident, Hero Honda, Apollo, Fortis, Steel Strips and the Nahar group to set up 100 out of the 141 proposed schools.

"The industry leaders have agreed to make huge investments. The total private investment will be over Rs 300 crore, in addition to the yearly cost of around Rs 65 crore," a state official said.

While Bharti, Ambuja and Hero groups have agreed to open ten schools, other corporates have show interest in setting up 10 to 15 schools each, officials say. The Bharti group had also committed to take over at least 250 primary schools in remote areas of the state, state officials said.

The chief minster has suggested a committee comprising representatives of the state government and industry to chalk out the basic structure of these schools and the funding pattern.

The state would provide 10-25 acres for each school, which would provide top quality education from pre-nursery level to poor and intelligent students from rural areas, an official said.

"The industrialists will be at liberty to finalise the modalities for setting up these schools and the state government's role will be merely that of a facilitator," Badal assured potential investors.

In Andhra Pradesh, the model schools would be residential and follow the CBSE syllabus. Each school will have 1,000 to 1200 students. To begin with, 300 schools would be set up, one in each Assembly constituency.

"The government will provide 30-50 acres per school and share 50 per cent of the annual recurring cost, which can be about Rs 2 crore, "Dr CBS Venkata Ramana, principal secretary, school education department, told Business Standard. "We have received around 120 enquiries from industry and NGOs," he said.

The corporates and other parties would bear the non-recurring cost (infrastructure etc), which would be around Rs 12 crore per school and 25 per cent of the annual recurring costs. The remaining 25 per cent recurring cost could be met from fees from students admitted under the management quota and from general category students, he said.