PM SHRI (Prime Minister’s Schools For Rising India) Yojana is an ambitious scheme launched by Honorable Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on September 5, 2022 – Teachers’ Day – to upgrade and modernize over 14,500 schools across India by 2027.
Objectives of PM SHRI Yojana
The key objectives of PM SHRI Yojana are:
- To upgrade the infrastructure and facilities of 14,500 old government schools across India
- To provide modern, technology-enabled education system in these schools
- To improve quality of education and learning outcomes for students
- To focus on holistic development of students
- To create schools that will act as exemplary schools and influence other schools to adopt best practices
Key Features
The upgraded PM SHRI schools will have the following facilities:
- Modern and tech-enabled classrooms
- Smart labs with latest equipment
- Library, sports and co-curricular activities related infrastructure
- Eco-friendly spaces, greenery and environment-friendly practices
- Innovative pedagogies using latest technology for effective teaching-learning
- Education in regional/local language, language of India and English
- Bagless days, focus on vocational and experiential learning
- Support for different abilities, bridge course for out of school students
The schools will aim to provide quality education with focus on:
- Knowledge
- Skills
- Values
- Pride
- Culture
- Performance
Implementation
PM SHRI Yojana will be implemented in 3 phases:
Phase I (2022-2025)
- Upgrade 7,000 schools to PM SHRI Schools
- Allocate ₹18,128 crores
Phase II (2023-2025)
- Upgrade 5,000 more schools
Phase III (2024-2025)
- Upgrade remaining 2,500 schools
The total budget allocation for PM SHRI yojana is ₹27,360 crores for 5 years. The scheme will impact over 18 lakh students across India.
The government funding will cover the following key expenditure heads:
| Expenditure Items | Description |
| School Infrastructure | Construction of new buildings, renovation of existing infrastructure |
| Furniture & Equipment | Desks, chairs, teaching learning materials, computers, lab equipment |
| Operating Costs | Electricity, internet, maintenance, teaching-learning material, bagless days |
| Capacity Building | Training teachers on innovative pedagogies, integration of technology |
| Community Participation | Events to encourage community involvement with schools |
| Project Management | Costs related to planning & managing the project |
State governments will also contribute their share of funding. They need to agree to implement National Education Policy 2020 to be eligible.
Progress of PM SHRI Yojana
PM Modi has announced some key updates regarding the progress of PM SHRI Yojana:
- Over 6,200 schools selected in Phase I to be upgraded as PM SHRI Schools
- First instalment of ₹630 crores released to kickstart the project
- Uttar Pradesh to have 1,753 PM SHRI Schools
- Maharashtra to upgrade 846 schools under this scheme
- High inclusion of schools by aspirational districts with over 1,000 schools already selected
PM SHRI Schools – Key Features
The PM SHRI schools aim to be model schools that are admired by students across the country. They will showcase implementation of key principles outlined in NEP 2020 related to:
Universalization of education
- Education for students of all backgrounds
- Support for inclusion of disadvantaged groups
Multilingualism
- Flexibility of language choice for teaching and learning
- Education in Indian languages, English
Enriching curriculum
- Innovative pedagogies like art & sport integrated education
- Vocational exposure from early ages
- Focus on foundational literacy and numeracy
Use of technology
- Smart classrooms, digital learning materials
- Teacher capacity building for ICT and online education
- Exposure to coding, computational thinking for students
Holistic development
- Life skills training, focus on experiential learning
- Bagless days, extracurricular activities
Benefits of PM SHRI Schools
Upgraded PM SHRI schools will provide numerous benefits to students and the education eco-system:
For Students
- Access to modern and high quality education infrastructure
- Reduced dropout rates, increased student retention till higher grades
- Improved foundational literacy and numeracy
- Enhanced learning outcomes
- Exposure to skills and technology
- Preparedness for jobs and higher education
For Teachers & Staff
- Capacity building for innovative teaching methodologies
- Professional development on technology integration
- Positive learning environment leading to job satisfaction
For School System
- Positive demonstration effect for other schools
- Platform to pilot innovative ideas which can be scaled
- Progress towards objectives of NEP 2020
- Enhanced community participation
The success of PM SHRI schools can have a multiplier effect to cause wider changes in how schools are managed across the country. They will set new benchmarks for education quality and ignite a virtuous cycle of improvement.
Many educationists have welcomed PM SHRI Yojana as long overdue overhaul of school infrastructure crucial for powering the knowledge economy of 21st century India.
The vision is that ultimately every school in India should have the minimum infrastructure and facilities comparable to PM SHRI schools. This scheme takes us closer to that goal.
