Jal Jeevan Mission to change face of UP schools, to improve quality of education: Govt

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government is gearing up to transform the face of all grade 1 to grade 8 schools in Vindhya and Bundelkhand regions by providing facilities similar to that of convent schools, the government said in a statement on Sunday.

The facelifting of schools will take place with companies working under Jal Jeevan Mission using their CSR funds for it and without any government budget.
As per the vision of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the Jal Jeevan Mission will transform 9 schools under the Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Council.

The selected schools will have new laboratories for science and computers where students will learn mathematics from specialized teachers. Smart classes and a dining shed for mid-day meals will also be built. There will also be sufficient space and playgrounds for conducting cultural and sports activities along with multiple hand-washing units.

Furthermore, the schools will have new infrastructure and additional classrooms. In the first phase, one school each has been selected from schools in the Vindhya-Bundelkhand region while the selection process for other schools is underway.

According to Anurag Srivastava, the Principal Secretary of Namami Gange and the Rural Water Supply Department, the companies working under the Jal Jeevan Mission will use their CSR funds to transform schools in rural areas for the education of underprivileged children. The Principal Secretary has directed to provide better and more modern education to students in rural areas and develop these schools as Mukhyamantri Abhyuday Composite Schools.

It is worth mentioning that in the first phase, one composite school per district will be developed as Mukhyamantri Abhyuday Composite Schools in seven districts in the Bundelkhand region (Chitrakoot, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Banda, Jhansi, Jalaun, Lalitpur) and two districts of the Vindhya region (Mirzapur and Sonbhadra) at a cost of Rs 12.78 crore.

Jal Shakti Minister, Swatantra Dev Singh, stated that the Yogi government is sincerely dedicated to making the water pipeline of the Jal Jeevan Mission ‘the lifeline of rural areas’. He said that the government is working towards providing clean drinking water to rural communities and improving their health, employment, education, and social well-being.

The transformation of schools will include strengthening pre-built classrooms, construction of buildings using earthquake-resistant techniques, installation of various security devices and fire extinguishing systems, provision of separate toilets with water and sanitation facilities, and construction of integrated buildings consisting of 6 classrooms.

Notably, the mentioned integrated building will have facilities like a library, computer lab, mathematics lab, science lab, smart classes, and staff room. It will also include language laboratories for learning English, Hindi, Sanskrit, and other local languages.

A mid-day meal shed, kitchen, kitchen garden, storage room, and multiple hand washing units will also be built and adequate space and sports grounds for cultural and sports activities will be provided. Furthermore, each classroom will be equipped with furniture (desks and benches) suitable for their class and age group.