Bhubaneswar: The Executive Council of Mo School Abhiyan’ headed by School and Mass Education Department, Principal Secretary, Bishnupada Sethi on Wednesday approved projects worth Rs 21.90 crores for schools in 26 districts.
The 34th Executive Council meeting of Mo School Abhiyan was held under the chairmanship of Principal Secretary Sethi on virtual mode.
In last one month, 13,302 alumni have been connected to ‘Mo School Abhiyan’ who have contributed Rs 5.33 crores for the development of their alma mater.
Under CSR contributions of various industries and corporates, Mo School has received Rs 1.68 crores for the development of Government and Aided schools. Coupled with a 2X matching grant for the donors and CSR contribution, the Council has approved projects worth Rs 21.90 crores.
Balasore has topped the list with donor contribution of Rs 1.36 crores, followed by Sonepur (Rs 40.22 lakhs), Cuttack (Rs 36.15 lakhs), Khordha (Rs 34 lakhs) and Jajpur (Rs 31 lakhs). Till date, 6.75 lakhs alumni have contributed financially for the development of their alma mater.
Post the transformation of high schools in the first and second phase of High School Transformation, over 2000 high schools out of the remaining 4310 schools will be transformed in the third phase of the programme.
Emphasis is being laid on a detailed monitoring framework for the high value projects and instructions have been given to complete the delayed projects within the stipulated time frame. The Principal Secretary has advised to propose the formation of a monitoring cell in this regard.
In a bid to promote Mathematics, Science, Computer Science and 21st Century skills among the students of Government schools, Mo School has taken up varied programmes in association with alumni groups and different organisations.
Steps are being undertaken to extensively encourage these programmes and reach out to a greater number of schools and students in the coming time.
Teacher training programmes in the second phase will be organised to develop the skillsets of teachers. The decision to kickstart these training sessions from the third week of June was taken in the 34th Executive Council Meeting of Mo School Abhiyan.
Sethi advised to broadcast talk sessions of eminent personalities through video conferencing in schools. He also instructed the forum to facilitate internet facilities in lacking schools to conduct video conference sessions.
To promote scientific learning, Mo School will be collaborating with Odisha Bigyan Academy. The Academy has proposed to organise science exhibitions and celebrate the days of scientific importance in schools by inviting scientists and researchers.
Similarly, it has also been proposed to conduct special training sessions for science teachers. On the other hand, focus will be given on practical science classes in the transformed schools. ‘Code Club’ activities will roll out in two phases in the 1076 schools transformed under the 1st phase of High School Transformation.
With the motto of strengthening the educational sector of the State, Mo School Abhiyan will closely function with corporate oragnsiations. To facilitate the Accelerated Learning Recovery Programme, a meeting was organised with 16 industries and corporates under the chairmanship of Chairperson, Mo School. These organisations have shown keen interest in working with Mo School in the near future to facilitate all round development in the educational backdrop.
Students enrolled in Rural Management, Rural Development, Education, Public Policy and Social Work courses in universities across Odisha and beyond will now have internship opportunities with Mo School through ‘Student Internship Programme’. The decision was taken in the Executive Council Meeting.
The meeting also witnessed the presence of Anupam Saha, State Project Director- OSEPA and Member Secretary- Mo School, Pratap Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, S&ME Department, Financial Advisor, S&ME Dept., Director, Secondary Education, Director, Elementary Education, Director, TE & SCERT, Amarjit Jena, COO, Mo School and Prabir Kumar Khillar, OSD, Mo School.
