4,000 govt schools to be revamped in 10 years: Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

GUWAHATI: The Assam government plans to revamp 4,000 government-run schools across the state in the next 10 years in order to bring them on a par with the best-managed private schools.
Ten old schools of Guwahati, including the British-era Cotton Collegiate Higher Secondary School, will get new buildings in the first phase, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Sunday, during his visit to some city schools and his alma mater, the Kamrup Academy Higher Secondary School.
He said to begin with, steps will be taken to spruce up the infrastructure of 1,000 schools, transforming them into 'Natun Dinor Bidyalay' (Schools of New Days) with state-of-the-art infrastructure from primary to senior secondary level. The plan is to bring the classrooms to one place and convert the remaining open spaces into playgrounds.
"The government will take up eight to nine schools in each assembly constituency. Accordingly 1,000 such schools will get a facelift with the creation of new and adequate infrastructure involving a financial outlay of Rs 5,000 crore," Sarma said, adding that either the work will be completed or started in all the 1,000 schools by 2026. In the next phase, 2,000 more schools will be taken up for this exercise.
"The state government has already initiated steps for the comprehensive infrastructure development of 1,000 high schools and higher secondary schools. Under the plan, the development will be brought about in educational institutions with the right kind of intervention," Sarma told media persons.
He said if any educational institution has any building that is more than 100-years-old, the government will help in preserving these as 'heritage buildings' as part of the initiative.
Sarma also visited the Sonaram Higher Secondary School at Bharalumukh, the TC Girls' HS School and Gopal Boro Government HS School and inspected their existing infrastructure.
He directed the state public works department to prepare blueprints for the creation of new infrastructure in these schools, keeping the provision of large open spaces and modern classrooms in mind.
"Visited Kamrup Academy, Guwahati, and reviewed its infrastructure. Established in 1930, I had the privilege of seeking education from this historical institute in my childhood.
The school building will be reconstructed and also get a new auditorium," Sarma tweeted.