ITANAGAR, 4 Jul: The State Samagra Shiksha Society has entered into an agreement with the Sunbird Trust of Bangalore (SBT) for the latter to operate and manage the residential school in Papi-Kurung from this academic session.
The school is located in the remotest part of Monigong subdivision in Shi-Yomi district, near the international border.
A memorandum of understanding in this regard was signed by Legislative Assembly Speaker PD Sona and SBT chairman Christopher Rego on Monday.
There are 208 residential schools, commonly known as Netaji Subash Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidhyalaya, in the state, and these schools are managed by the DDSEs through the school management committees. The residential school in Papi-Kurung is one among them, and lacks adequate infrastructure, student enrollment, connectivity and proper communication.
Sona appealed to the trust to “put an effort to completely transform the school and gain back the trust of the people surrounding the area.”
“Since this is completely a new initiative, if the trust performs and brings about transformative changes, more schools in the district and other parts of the state can be managed in the same way,” he added.
Education Commissioner Padmini Singla, who along with SPD Pige Ligu was also present, informed that the state has 49 KGBVs, of which 48 are being operated and managed by NGOs. “As these NGOs are giving their services in professional manner, similarly, Sunbird Trust, being in the education field for last three decades, will usher in new expertise, professionalism and quality in management of this school,” she said.
Ligu on his part advised the Shi-Yomi DDSE and the local ZPM, who were also present, to “obtain land possession certificate for the school from the district authority to avoid any kind of issues in future.”
“Although the current enrollment may be low, there is vast scope of enhancing enrollment from the surrounding villages if the performance of the school improves and the infrastructure is proper,” he said.
