Bindra to set up 50 schools in India

New Delhi, Dec 25: Olympic gold medalist Abinav Bindra has plans to set up 50 schools in next five years across the India. The main focus of the school will be sports. The school would be called Abhinav Bindra Ace Public School (ABAPS).

"We are trying to set up ABAPS across the country. Our aim is to give a unique balance between sports and studies. Sports would be an integral part of our extra curricular activities," Abhinav sporting trust managing trustee A S Bindra said. The first school is likely to set up in Bangalore by 2010.

"Our plan is to set up around 50 schools across the country. The first 3-4 schools would be managed by ourselves but the rest, we are considering to franchise it," he said. Karnataka govt has already given 50-80 acres land for the purpose, it is still in the process of acquiring land in other states like Kerala, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Chandigarh.

"We have acquired 50-80 acre land in Bangalore. The construction of the school would begin in another 3-4 months time. In the next 2-3 years period we plan to open around 4-5 schools. For that we are in the process of acquiring land in the other states also," he said.

ABAPS would have a capacity of around 800 residential students and would impart education from the 6th to 12th standard. Talks with several international agencies and NGOs are being held to finance the schools, Bindra said.

OneIndia News (With inputs from Agencies)