STUDENTS TO GET BETTER QUALITY EDUCATION, SECURITY & INT’L BOARD
Students of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools will have the opportunity to get quality education and international curriculum as per the annual civic education budget. Fulfilment of existing schemes and implementation of provisions for this academic year is the main objective of the BMC as per its education budget of Rs 2,569.35 crores which is increased by 11 per cent as compared to last year.
Improving the quality of education and increasing the number of students in civic-run schools is the main aim of the BMC. For this purpose, students will have an opportunity to study in 35 schools which will adopt international curriculum through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. In addition, 24 international schools (one in every ward) are proposed to be established to provide a wide exposure to students according to international standards.
Security of students is the prime focus as over 4,064 Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras will be installed in 381 schools. The nutritive supplementary meals will comprise of protein rich dry snacks as part of mid day meal programme. Over 172 sanitary napkin vending machines have been installed and an additional 381 will be installed for girls from Class 8 to 10.
Balwadis will be attached to schools to provide a one stop solution for students from preschool to Class 10. Around 649 bilingual schools will be established wherein subjects will be taught in two languages mainly English and the mother tongue of the student. E-Libraries, digital and virtual classroom will be set up for students to learn and evolve with technology.
Students will be selected and will get an opportunity to get football training in Germany as part of Road to Germany project. Skill development is also tackled as students will be provided with copywriting books, engraving alphabet boards, four line books and Tabs for learning. Teachers will be given training through tutorials to increase focus on English language and adopt creative methods of teaching.
BMC schools have been facing an increasing dropout rate. Mahesh Palkar, Education officer of BMC said, “We want to increase the number of students in our schools and cater to a larger audience. We want to complete the projects which we have undertaken so that we can focus on the new ones.” While, Shubhada Gudekar, Chairperson of Education Committee, said, “We want to use all the funds to provide good quality education to our students through various initiatives and plans.”