New building for Col Bhagat English School

Pune: The Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB) iwill start the construction of a new school building at Col Bhagat English Medium School.
The board authorities said that the need for a new school building has been necessitated in the light of increase in number of students. This issue was tabled at the general body meeting of KCB held earlier this week.

KCB’s chief executive officer Amol Jagtap told TOI on Saturday, “The school currently has 700 students. From next year we will be starting a new class (IX) so it is imperative to have adequate infrastructure to cater to the needs of increased strength, which would be close to 1,000.”

The board authorities have already completed the tender process. “As per our plan, the building will have three rooms and an office on the ground floor, while first floor will have four rooms and a laboratory. On the second floor, there will be a science laboratory and a hall,” Jagtap said.

The total cost of the project will be more than Rs 2 crore. The contractor is supposed to complete the work in the next nine months.

Residents and the board members have welcomed the move, saying that 70% of students come from below poverty line (BPL) families.

One of the senior board members told TOI, “The school has been delivering very positive results for the past few years. Importantly, many poor families, who can’t afford to admit their wards in private schools due to high school fees, are getting quality education here. Therefore, all the board members are paying extra attention to the school so that the quality of education is sustained.”

The board authorities are also want to start the process of affiliation of the school to Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in the next two years.

Rakesh Pilley, whose son is currently studying in the school, said, “Children from many poor families study in this school. Had this school not been there it would have been difficult for several families to get their children admitted to English medium school.”