Government schools in Kerala have now transformed into centres of excellence with better infrastructure and improved academic performance, Chief Minister Pianrayi Vijayan has said. He was speaking after inaugurating new buildings of 75 government schools across the State on Monday.
Mr. Vijayan said that as many as 10.48 lakh students had enrolled in government schools over the past six years, reversing the earlier trend of students shifting to private schools.
“The Left Democratic Front had in its election manifesto six years ago promised to protect public education in the State because public education was in a sorry state then. The funding through Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), which many had opposed when we introduced it, enabled us to implement all these projects. When the standard of government schools improves, it is the poorest of the people in our State who stand to benefit, because their children will also get quality education,” said Mr. Vijayan.
He reiterated that the government had not been politically partial in developmental activities, distributing funds equally across all areas. In the past five years, the government has built 110 new school buildings each costing ₹5 crore, 106 school buildings each costing ₹3 crore and two school buildings costing ₹1 crore each, with funding from the KIIFB. In addition, 75 new school buildings have now been inaugurated. Forty-eight higher secondary school labs have been renovated, he said at the function held at the Government Vocational and Higher Secondary School, Vattiyurkavu. General Education Minister V. Sivankutty presided.
In coastal areas
Later in the day, the Chief Minister also inaugurated new school buildings of 20 government schools in the coastal areas. He said that the government had been working with a focus on the social development of the coastal regions. Fisheries Minister Saji Cherian, who presided over the function, said that the 20 school buildings were part of the KIIFB and Fisheries department-funded project to improve the infrastructure in 57 coastal schools at a cost of ₹66.35 crore.
