233 Punjab schools selected for upgrade under PM SHRI

After Punjab rejoined the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI) Scheme, the Centre has selected 233 government higher secondary and senior secondary schools in the state for an upgrade.

These government schools have been chosen through a challenge mode wherein 5,300 government schools in the state participated. The selected schools will be developed as ‘exemplar schools’ under the scheme to provide ‘high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive and joyful school environment.’ According to the programme objectives, these schools will serve as model institutes, embodying the spirit of the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020.

The ₹27,360-crore scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2022 to upgrade 14,500 schools nationwide over five years. Punjab initially signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) in October 2022 but later withdrew from the programme last year. The state rejoined the scheme in July this year and then participated in the fourth phase of school selection held last month to identify the schools for upgrade.

Of the 233 selected schools, the largest number are from Bathinda, Gurdaspur and Patiala, with 17 each. Followed by Jalandhar and Ludhiana with 15 each, while Sangrur and Amritsar have 14 schools. Ten schools each are from Ferozepur, Tarn Taran and SAS Nagar, nine from Mansa, eight from Pathankot and Fazilka, seven from Muktsar, six from Barnala, Faridkot and Malerkotla, and five from Fatehgarh Sahib, SBS Nagar, and Rupnagar, according to the final list shared by the Union ministry of education with the state government.

The PM SHRI programme is being jointly financed by the central and state governments on a 60:40 funding ratio. “The budget including central and state share for each primary, elementary and secondary/senior secondary school may be around ₹1 crore, ₹1.30 crore and ₹2.25 crore, respectively, depending upon the enrolment of the students and requirements of the schools individually,” according to a letter circulated by Vipin Kumar, additional secretary, ministry of education, to the state governments last year.

There is no primary or elementary school in Punjab’s list of selected schools.

Punjab, which signed the MoU with the central ministry in October 2022 and got 241 schools at the start, had pulled out of the programme in July 2023, citing its own ‘Schools of Eminence’ scheme and plans to transform 1,000 other state-run schools into specialised schools under proposed schemes of ‘Schools of Happiness’ and ‘Schools of Brilliance’. “It is felt that shifting 241 schools under any other scheme would create ambiguity since the state wants to focus on state initiatives/projects. Therefore, the state government is not willing to opt for the PM SHRI School Scheme,” the director general school education, Punjab, then wrote to the central ministry.

Punjab was among the five opposition-ruled states that withdrew or did not sign up for the scheme. However, the central government stopped their funds under Samagra Shiksha, its flagship scheme for the education sector, compelling the Punjab government to rethink its stand and participate in the centrally-sponsored programme. After the central government withheld funds, the state government wrote to the ministry in July this year expressing its willingness to participate in the programme.