Imphal, August 27: Although the Work Advisory Board has given approval on setting up 10 residential schools in 10 blocks of the hill districts at an estimated cost of Rs 1 crore each under Special Plan Assistance (SPA) in the current fiscal year, it is said that preparation of the detailed project report (DPR) on upgrading the schools for teaching science and mathematic in the hills is still due.

Disclosing this to The Sangai Express, a reliable source from the School Education Department informed that a meeting of the Work Advisory Board presided by Education Minister on August 8 has finalised the developmental programmes to be taken up by the Department for which a sum of Rs 30 crores has been earmarked in the current fiscal year.

In consonance with the plan of the Government to set up one residential school each in all the blocks of the hill district within three years, the meeting decided that in the current fiscal year 10 residential schools would be set up at a total estimated cost of Rs 10 crores.

The selected sites where residential schools would be set up in the current fiscal year are Liwachaning High School in Chandel block, Parbung High School in Parbung Block and Singhat High School in Singhat Block of Churachandpur district; Nungba High School in Nungba Block and Tousem High School in Tousem Block of Tamenglong district; Kasom Khullen High School in Kasom Block and Phungyar High school in Ukhrul Block of Ukhrul district and Mao-Maram High School in Mao-Maram Block and Thangtong Higher Secondary School in Saikul Block of Senapati District.

The site for Saikul Block, however, has not yet been finalised.

The meeting of the Work Advisory Board has also approved sanctioning an additional amount of Rs 1 crore each for further development of 11 higher secondary schools where infrastructure upgradation works are already underway since last fiscal year.

However, the meeting took serious note of instance of school building collapsing causing injuries to a student and lack of quality maintenance in the construction of the school buildings.

The source further disclosed that although a sum of Rs 5 crores has been earmarked under SPA for upgradation of the facilities for teaching science and mathematics in the schools located in the hill districts, preparation of a detailed project report (DPR) of the scheme is yet to be finalised by the Government.

It is learnt that under the SPA fund for the current fiscal year, a sum of Rs 1 crores has also been set aside for infrastructural development of Sainik School, Imphal and Rs 3 crores for Manipur Public School at Koirengei.

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