Patna: State education minister Mithilesh Tiwari on Wednesday sought central assistance to strengthen school infrastructure and expand digital learning facilities across the state during a meeting with Union education minister Pralhad Joshi in New Delhi on Wednesday.Tiwari requested financial support for constructing buildings for 1,520 schools that currently lack land or infrastructure but for which land has now been secured. He also sought the early release of Rs 91.63 crore in recurring funds and pending non-recurring funds to ensure uninterrupted functioning of 3,818 ICT laboratories, besides Rs 18.82 crore for 784 existing ICT labs.The minister urged the Centre to provide additional funds for building 227 classrooms in PM SHRI schools, repairing toilets in 525 schools and installing smart boards and interactive learning panels in 836 schools.He also sought Rs 8.29 crore for implementing a facial recognition-based attendance system in schools and Rs 50.80 crore in spillover funds for developing six District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs) as Centres of Excellence.In addition, Tiwari requested an extension of the ULLAS adult literacy programme till 2032 to further strengthen literacy and continuing education initiatives in the state.The demands were raised as part of Bihar’s efforts to upgrade educational infrastructure, improve digital learning facilities and enhance the quality of school education.
