PM SHRI schools Telangana hit hard due to financial crunch

Hyderabad: The vision and mission of PM Shri (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) is taking a beating just two months over a year after the launch of the scheme in Telangana.

According to State School Education Department (SSED) sources, the PM Shri schools were meant to implement a unique model of combining the best practices from across the world and integrating the native or indigenous practices from within the country.

The programme was launched in 2022 and is to be implemented over five years by selecting about 14,500 schools and developing them into a brand of quality education with 21st-century skills.

Speaking to The Hans India, an SSED official said 543 PM SHRI Schools were selected in the scheme's first phase. They include 56 elementary schools and 487 secondary and senior secondary schools. Most of the schools belong to the Zilla Parishad Schools.

The others include schools run by Telangana State Model Schools, Mandal Praja Parishad UnnataPatasala, KGBVs, Telangana Residential Educational Institutions, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Telangana Backward Classes Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society. After a three-stage process, the approval board has selected 543 schools from Telangana.

Ahead of the start of the academic year 2023-24, on March 23, this year, the Deputy Secretary from the Department of School Education and Literacy,, Dr Preeti Meena in a letter to the then Telangana State Education Secretary VakatiKuarna informed the selection of the number of schools. Also, requesting to prepare the Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B) proposals for the Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings. Further, States may also propose state-matching shares as per the norms of the PM SHRI Scheme.

States/UTs are also requested to designate a separate Single Nodal Agency (SNA) for funding of PM SHRI Scheme. The Project Approval Board (PAB) meetings will be convened in due course to initiate the necessary interventions in the PM SHRI Schools.

Also, "The success of the PM SHRI scheme will depend upon the co-operation and co-ordination of all the States/UTs," the union ministry official added. Under the PM SHRI schools scheme 60 percent of the implementation cost will be borne by the Centre, while the remaining 40 per cent will be borne by the State.

Speaking to The Hans India, Teachers Constituency, MLC AlugubelliNarsi Reddy said, several headmasters of the Zilla Parishad Schools have been facing a financial crunch in running the PM SHRI school. Because the enrollments in these schools numbering around 1,200 have become more. But, for the last six months, there has been no release of maintenance grants and resulting in it being tough for the HMs to run the schools. It is not known whether the Centre has not released the budget for the PM SHRI schools or the state government has failed to give its share of 40 per cent as per the scheme norms. Whatever the reasons the schools and students are facing the problem, he added.

Further, he sought the immediate intervention of the State Director of School Education (SDSE) to release funds from any of the grants available at her disposal or direct the district collectors to release funds at their disposal to these schools. The funds released could be reimbursed on the release of the budget for them. There is an immediate need to address the financial crunch faced by these schools even in maintaining and running them, he pointed out.