As many as 8,663 new secondary schools and 46,280 toilets in schools have been constructed in different parts of the country till March 31 under the centrally-sponsored Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.

Union HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said under the RMSA till 2017-18 and Samagra Shiksha effective

from

2018 -19,

12,896 new secondary schools, 53,789 additional classrooms, 66,286

toilets and 11,933

drinking water facilities in schools have been sanctioned.

Out of these, states and UTs have reported that 12,100 new schools have become

functional and construction of 8,663 new

schools, 37,546 additional classrooms, 46,280 toilets and provision

of drinking water

facility in 10,093

schools has been done till

March 31, 2019, he said during Question Hour.

Besides, Pokhriyal said, approval has been

given for up- gradation

of 44 secondary schools

to senior secondary and introduction of new stream in 851 senior secondary schools under Samagra Shiksha in 2018-19.

The

RMSA was under implementation from 2009 to 2017-18 for universalising

secondary

education in the country.

The RMSA programme provided a number of incentives to encourage

enrolment

and retention of children in

schools as well as for improvement of quality of education.

These included

enhancing access to secondary schools, strengthening

school infrastructure like school building, additional classrooms, laboratories, libraries, arts

and

craft rooms, toilets, drinking water facilities etc, the minister said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)