Children returning to schools in the next academic year in the post-COVID situation will not see institutions they saw a year before, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said.
He was speaking after inaugurating 111 school buildings constructed as part of the government’s 100-day programme on Saturday.
The Chief Minister questioned alleged attempts to discredit the Kerala Infratsructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB). Many schools had seen huge changes in infrastructure and academic facilities, which was made possible by KIIFB funds, he said.
The KIIFB had chipped in to take development work forward whenever there were funds shortage in Budget allocation. A similar announcement, for development work to the tune of ₹50,000 crore to be realised through the KIIFB, was made by the government. As per this, projects worth ₹62,000 crore were now ready, he said. This totally fulfilled the aspirations of the people, the CM said.
As many 6.8 lakh students had newly joined government and aided schools after the Left Democratic Front government came to power. This was in sharp contrast to the times when student strength in such schools was falling and they were closing down. The real beneficiary of the Public Education Rejuvenation Mission was the common man. The change now was that a student in the most backward school could now get world-class education, he said.
The Chief Minister said the next generation coming up in the State would be very talented, as their educational foundation was very strong. Their perspective would also change. The government was very proud to have completed this task well, he said, despite challenges ranging from the Ockhi cyclone to the current pandemic.
Hinting that KIIFB’s help in the process was noteworthy, the CM said construction of 22 of the newly inaugurated school buildings was possible with a ₹5-crore KIIFB aid and 21 schools with a ₹3-crore assistance. Fifty eight schools were as per Plan fund, six were using Samagra Shiksha, Kerala funds, and one each using MLA fund, NABARD, RMSA, and grama panchayat funds.
