J&K to adopt Kerala's model of modernising govt schools

Thiruvananthapuram: The Jammu and Kashmir government signed an MoU with a Kozhikode-based Faizal and Shabna Foundation to adopt the state's 'Nadakkavu model' of modernising the government schools in the union territory.

Over 1,200 government schools, mainly in Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have adopted the model within 10 years since its inception. The model has also been introduced in a few schools in West Africa. "It will be first introduced in the Government Higher Secondary School for Girls in Kothibagh, Srinagar. The objective is to establish the school as a centre of educational excellence that can serve as a blueprint for other schools throughout Jammu & Kashmir," the Foundation said in a release on Sunday.

Under the agreement, the Foundation will provide funding for the project and assume responsibility for its implementation including the holistic development of the school. "The goal is to bring about excellence at all levels, providing equitable education especially for those from the bottom of the pyramid so that each child can come up to the potential they are capable of. The Foundation will also collaborate with esteemed Indian and international institutions to conduct training programmes for the school's teaching staff and students," global head of the Foundation, Joseph Sebastian said.

The Faizal and Shabana Foundation was founded in 2007 by a UAE-based Keralite industrialist couple, Faizal E Kottikollon and his wife Shabana Faizal. With the aim of promoting ordinary schools to international standards through multiple interventions, the couple modernised the infrastructure and uplifted the educational standard of the 130-year old Government Vocational Higher Secondary School for Girls at Nadakkavu in Kozhikode district in 2013, spending Rs 20 crore.

Tassaduq Hussain Mir, the Director of School Education of Jammu and Kashmir, said once this model is established, it is the endeavour of the government to replicate this across the northernmost state. "We are confident that this collaboration between the Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Faizal and Shabana Foundation will create a brighter future for the students of Kashmir and contribute to the development of a robust educational system," Mir said.

The foundation has also taken initiative in building leadership qualities among teachers and skill development among students, community enhancement and linking students to Centres of Academic Excellence.  

(With inputs from PTI)