Assam government orders to remove around 5,000 venture schools from Midday Meal Scheme

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• Apr 11, 2023 | Dhupali Das

The Assam government has decided to eliminate all venture schools from the list of recognized...

Digital Desk: The Assam government has decided to eliminate all venture schools from the list of recognized/government-aided schools in the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE).

Furthermore, all districts in Assam are therefore ordered to eliminate these venture schools from the PM POSHAN eligible list and to discontinue rice allotment to all schools starting April 2023.

According to PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman) rules, students studying in government-aided and NCLP (National Child Labour Project) schools from Bal Vatika (just before Class 1) to Class-VIII are exclusively covered under PM POSHAN. 

This change will affect approximately 5,000 schools, including lower and upper primary-level institutions.

"In Assam, there existed a certain category of schools that were labelled as government sponsored, which are venture schools," Minister Ranoj Pegu told India Today NE. 

Furthermore, the minister stated that while certain institutions did receive financial support from the state government, it was not a continuous process.

"As a result, the PM POSHAN scheme, which is just for government-aided schools, will not benefit from this scheme," the minister said.

Ranoj Pegu claimed that the state government continues to provide free textbooks to venture schools.

Reportedly, around 7670 schools in Assam will be affected as a consequence of the announcement.

Previously, the Board of Secondary Education (SEBA) announced to withdrawal of affiliation of up to 105 private/venture schools beginning March 31, 2023. As a result, starting on April 1, 2023, no class IX students will be able to apply at these schools.

The decision has been made after these 105 private/venture schools failed to respond to show cause letters sent by SEBA in June and July of last year, citing low performance in the 2022 High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Assam High Madrassa exams.

According to the SEBA, around 294 private/venture schools scored dismally in the 2022 High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) and Assam High Madrassa exams.

In the previous five years, 41 of these 294 schools had persistently poor performance.