Andhra Pradesh plans 300 concept schools

The Andhra Pradesh government has planned to set up 300 concept schools across the state to impart 'state-of-the-art' education to the students from rural background.

These schools, to be known as public schools, will be established in the Public-Private Partnership mode.

Disclosing this plan at the District Collectors' Conference in Hyderabad on Saturday, Chief Minister Dr Y S Rajasekhar Reddy said these schools would be set up with financial assistance from industrialists and philanthropists and the government would provide the land for the construction of buildings.

Each of these schools is estimated to cost between Rs 10 crore (Rs 100 million) to Rs 15 crore (Rs 150 million) for buildings and infrastructure with recurring expenditure of Rs 50 lakh per annum. The government will allot 15 to 20 acres of land for each of these schools.

The Chief Minister said that 294 Assembly constituencies in the state would have one concept school each under the aegis of AP Residential Public Schools.

These schools would become functional over the next one year. "These schools are not going to be commercial ventures. They are intended to provide education to rural students to bridge the rural-urban divide in digital and communication skills," he added.