Over 41K applications for admission to 12K seats in Jharkhand govt Schools of Excellence
An official reported that more than 41,000 applications have been received for admission to the 80 Jharkhand government-run Schools of Excellence, which have a total of 12,000 seats. These schools were inaugurated by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on May 2 as part of an academic reform initiative. The aim of these schools is to provide quality English-medium education comparable to private schools for children attending government schools.
The official stated, "The school managements have received over 41,000 applications across the state for the 11,986 available seats in the Schools of Excellence (SoEs) until the deadline of May 25." This number of applications is 345% higher than the total number of seats available. Among the districts, Deoghar received the highest number of applications with 4,241, followed by Palamu with 3,524, Ranchi with 2,766, Lohardaga with 2,637, and Chatra with 2,391. East Singhbhum received 1,996 applications, Saraikela Kharsawan received 1,929, and Hazaribag received 1,859 applications.
The selection test for admission will take place on May 30. The first merit list will be published on June 7, and admissions based on the merit list will begin on June 12. These 80 district-level Schools of Excellence are part of the government's efforts to provide quality education opportunities to 15 lakh school children studying in government schools. The government also plans to establish 325 block-level schools and 4,091 gram panchayat level model schools across the state in the second phase of this initiative.
In a recent development, ten students from Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) in Khunti district, which is part of a government project to address gender disparities in rural areas and disadvantaged communities, qualified in the JEE (Mains) examination. The National Center for School Leadership provided online training to the principals of the 80 Schools of Excellence in two phases. The Azim Premji Foundation also conducted the training for the principals in two phases, completing it recently. Additionally, the principals underwent capacity building training in January, which was conducted by IIMs.
It was previously announced by the government that all students in these 80 Schools of Excellence would receive vocational training in eleven trades. These trades include agriculture, IT, ITES, apparel and make-up, home furnishing, media and entertainment, automotive, tourism and hospitality, beauty and wellness, multi-skilling, electronics and hardware, retail, and healthcare.