The Union Education Ministry’s senior official announced on Monday that around 9,000 school upgrade applications from various states have been found eligible for consideration under the PM Schools for Rising India (PM-SHRI) scheme. After a thorough examination, funds will be sanctioned for each eligible school to upgrade according to PM-SHRI norms.

Notably, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, and some other non-BJP governed states have not submitted any applications so far. However, the official mentioned that Jharkhand has shown interest in signing an MoU with the Centre.

In September of last year, the Centre revealed plans to redevelop 14,500 schools across states and UTs over the course of five years, at a cost of Rs 27,360 crore. This redevelopment aims to align with the key features of India’s National Education Policy of 2020 (NEP).

States and UTs that wish to participate in the scheme, with implementation costs split in a 60:40 ratio, must sign MoUs with the Centre and commit to implementing the NEP in its entirety.