RMSA sanctions Rs. 28.38 crore to upgrade 5,677 Govt. schools in State

The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
(RMSA), a Centrally-sponsored scheme,
recently allotted a sum of Rs. 28.38 crore for
upgrading 5,677 Government schools in all 32
districts of Tamil Nadu.

Of these, Coimbatore
has as many as 179 schools and Rs. 89.50
lakh has been allotted for the district.
Official sources told The Hindu here on
Monday that each school would be given a
grant of Rs. 50,000 for carrying out
development works which would be
monitored by the School Management
Development Committees, which will have
representatives from parents and NGOs as
well besides teachers.
The funds would be used to purchase
laboratory equipment and materials for
Classes IX and X and other educational
materials such as reference books advocated
by the Government.
The funds could also be utilised to purchase
newspapers and magazines and other books
for the schools. The schools could also use the
funds to pay the bills for their internet
connection as well as electricity and
telephone bills.
Officials here said that the funds were being
used in Coimbatore for constructing 15
additional classrooms and eight science
laboratories. The works had already
commenced in some of the schools. The
building works were being taken up by the
Public Works Department.
Officials said that the funds were being given
for the past four years to strengthen the
Government schools and attract more
students in the coming years.
With 351 schools, Villupuram had the highest
number of schools benefitting from this
initiative with the district getting Rs. 1.75
crore.
Among the western districts, Salem was
allotted Rs. 1.28 crore to upgrade 256 schools,
The Nilgiris Rs. 43.50 lakh for 87 schools,
Dharmapuri Rs. 1.01 crore for 203 schools,
and Tirupur Rs. 71.50 lakh for 143 schools.
The RMSA is a Central Government project
launched in March 2009 to enhance access to
secondary education and improve quality of
education.