Odisha decides to implement PM SHRI schools scheme

NEW DELHI: The Odisha government has decided to sign an agreement with the union ministry of education for the implementation of Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) scheme in the state. The agreement will be signed before the beginning of the 2024-25 academic session, the education ministry informed.

MoE shared the information on social media and said, “Odisha Government has taken a far-reaching decision to sign an MoU with Ministry of Education, Government of India to implement PM SHRI Scheme. PM SHRI are NEP 2020 exemplar schools.” The partnership signifies strong relationship between the centre and state, it said.

In a letter to the department of school education, the commission-cum-secretary of state’s mass education department informed that a state level committee has been formed for the purpose on the recommendation of which, the agreement for establishment of PM SHRI schools will be signed by the state prior to the academic session 2024-25. The state education department also requested the centre to release the third instalment towards Samagra Shiksha for the financial year 2023-24.

“I would like to inform that the state of Odisha is committed to provide quality education to all students across the state and has been consistently trying to create a proper learning environment with adequate infrastructure and human resources,” the letter read.

PM SHRI scheme in other states

Recently, the Tamil Nadu government also decided to sign the agreement with the union education ministry for setting up of PM SHRI schools in the state.

In February, the centre had raised concerns about five states not inking a pact with it for implementing the PM SHRI schools including Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala, and Delhi.

The PM SHRI scheme targets to upgrade 14,500 schools and is expected to benefit 1.8 million students. It also aims to ensure these schools serve as model institutes and encapsulate the spirit of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. The government has already selected 6,448 schools from 28 states and UTs for the upgrade in the first round.