28 more Navodaya Vidyalayas to be opened

New Delhi, June 2 (UNI) The Centre today sanctioned 28 more Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs)in the unrepresented districts, taking the total number of such pace-setting residential schools to 568.

A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, decided to open Navodaya Vidyalayas in 28 of the 42 unrepresented districts during 2006-07 at temporary sites to be made available by the state governments.

Information and Broacasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunsi told mediapersons that buildings for these schools would be constructed during the eleventh plan period.

As many as 540 Navodaya Vidyalayas have been sanctioned at the rate of one in each district. Out of this 507 are functional already.

Tamil Nadu is the only state in the country where Navodaya schools are not opened as the state has not agreed to the scheme due to its insistence on non-use of Hindi as a medium of instruction for social science and humanities in class IX and XII as per policy adopted by the JNVs.

JNVs is a central sector scheme which commenced in 1986-87 in pursuant to the new National Policy on Education adopted in 1986.

The idea behind the JNV Scheme is to give opportunity to the rural talent to get quality education.

UNI SH PR RK2033