Union Ministers lay foundation stone for new Navodaya Vidyalaya in Jharkhand

Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi on Tuesday said here that Union Ministry of Education is constructing 99 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in backward, weaker and Minority concentrated areas across the country for the first time in the history, and several of these Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas are being constructed jointly by Union Ministry of Education and Union Ministry of Minority Affairs.

New Delhi: Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi and Minister for Education Ramesh Pokhriyal "Nishank", laid the foundation stone for a new Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya at Pakur in Jharkhand through video conferencing on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media persons, Naqvi said, "The Ministry of Education is constructing 99 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in backward areas and those with minority communities concentration across the country. This school is being constructed by the Ministry of Minority Affairs under the "Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram" (PMJVK)."

Naqvi said that the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Minority Affairs are also jointly constructing four Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas at Uttar Dinajpur and Howrah in West Bengal; West Kamang in Arunachal Pradesh; and Mamit in Manipur.

The Minority Affairs Ministry is extending financial assistance of Rs 244 crore for construction of these Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, he said in his address via video conference.

The Minority Affairs Minister will also construct Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas at other places jointly with the Ministry of Education, he said.

"The Ministry of Education is constructing 99 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas in backward, weaker and minority concentrated areas across the country for the first time in the history," he said.

The Minority Affairs Ministry has also provided Rs 36 crore for 1,173 smart classrooms in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in backward and minority concentrated areas of the country, he said.

Naqvi said that these Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas will play a crucial role in providing quality and affordable education to students from backwards and minority communities in the rural areas of the country.

During the last six years, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has developed socio, economic, educational and employment-oriented infrastructure across the country in backward, deprived and minority communities concentration areas under the ''Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram''.

While only 90 districts of the country had been identified for minority communities' development before 2014, the Modi government has expanded development programmes for minorities in 308 districts of the country.