At the fag end of its tenure the UPA Government plans to shower another round of bounty on Rae Bareli and Amethi - the parliamentary constituencies of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi respectively by setting up Kendriya Vidyalayas there.
The HRD ministry plans to set up 54 such schools across country particularly in those areas which do not have Kendriya Vidyalayas. Though both Rae Bareli and Amethi have one Kendriya Vidyalay each still the ministry wants another central school in those regions saying both the regions are educationally backward and need more such institutions to improve educational standard in those two districts.
The official said both Amethi and Rae Bareli were backward districts with enrolment ratios below the national average and to boost the ratio new schools were required.
HRD minister M.M. Pallam Raju has written letter to the State Government seeking land for setting up of Kendriya Vidyalayas in Rae Bareli and Amethi. A highly placed source said that the letter stresses for urgent help as the proposal has been sent to the expenditure finance committee (EFC) under the finance ministry for sanction of funds.
According to sources in the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) - the organisation that runs the chain of 1,091 schools across the country - nearly 140 districts do not have a single such institution now.
This is not the only central project planned for Amethi and Rae Bareli by the HRD Ministry. The ministry has introduced a bill in Parliament to set up a central university for women in Rae Bareli. The varsity will be named after Indira Gandhi, who represented the constituency earlier.
Another central organisation, the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), has decided to set up a stadium in Rae Bareli for sports events featuring its students. The NVS operates the 600-odd Navodaya schools in the country. The stadium will be a key facility to hold national-level sports contests among Navodaya students.
Besides, the railways have set up Rail Coach Factory in Rae Bareli. The Health Department has a proposal to set up a AIIMS like institution in Sonia’s constituency. Besides, a series of bank branches have been opened there. Congress vice-president who would be going to Amethi on January 10 will inaugurate branches of SBI.