Gandhinagar: An educated society is essential for the holistic development of any nation. To achieve this, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, launched an initiative called ‘Mission Schools of Excellence’. This mission aims to provide students with improved infrastructure and modern educational practices to ensure quality education and a brighter future for Gujarat’s next generation. So far under this project, 13,353 new classrooms, 21,000 new computer labs, 1,09,000 new smart classrooms, and 5,000 new STEM labs have been completed, an official statement said today.

Enhancing schools with robust infrastructure, smart classrooms, STEM labs, and co-curricular facilities plays a vital role in improving academic outcomes. Gujarat, a pioneer in adopting innovative approaches in education, launched the country’s largest inclusive school campaign – Mission Schools of Excellence – in 2022, under which the state government will invest approximately ₹12,000 crore in this ambitious project. The World Bank has announced $750 million in funding for the initiative.

The objective of Mission Schools of Excellence is to upgrade around 40,000 government and grant-in-aid schools by strengthening infrastructure, digital learning tools, and foundational education. This is the first project of its kind in India, aimed at enhancing the overall quality of school education nationwide.

Under this mission, the development of physical and digital infrastructure across Gujarat’s schools has picked up significant momentum. As part of the initiative, 50,000 new classrooms are to be constructed, of which 13,353 classrooms have been completed and 31,469 classrooms are currently under construction. In addition, 27,872 existing classrooms have already been modernized, and work is underway to upgrade another 63,860 classrooms.

To support the digital transformation of education, 21,000 new computer labs have been established. Furthermore, efforts are ongoing to equip 18,000 government and grant-in-aid schools with new computer labs. The mission also envisions the development of 1,50,000 smart classrooms, with 1,09,000 smart classrooms already completed, and another 26,000 smart classrooms under development. To promote science and technology learning, 5,000 new STEM labs have also been constructed.

With the comprehensive development of selected primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools, Mission Schools of Excellence is expected to directly and indirectly benefit nearly one crore students, thereby significantly strengthening the foundation of primary education in Gujarat. DeshGujarat