PM SHRI Adarsh Exemplar School Initiative: 144 Jharkhand Schools Selected for Quality Education Enhancement

Ranchi: Around 144 schools in the state were identified under a new initiative aimed at strengthening the quality and outcomes of the PM SHRI schools programme, to develop them as model institutes that provide excellent, inclusive and high-quality education to children.Under the PM SHRI Adarsh Exemplar School Initiative, high-performing PM SHRI schools will be nurtured as mentoring hubs to guide and support other schools in adopting best practices. State project director of the initiative, Shashi Ranjan, said, “PM SHRI follows a structured, data-driven approach aligned with the school quality assessment framework (SQAF) and the goals of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.”The schools will be assessed against 39 SQAF indicators covering domains such as teaching-learning practices, infrastructure, governance, inclusivity, leadership and stakeholder satisfaction. Based on this assessment, the state project management unit (state PMU) will identify 144 high-performing schools from 24 districts of the state. From this list, each district will screen and select the three best-performing schools. According to officials, these selected schools will receive intensive mentoring, continuous guidance and close monitoring, enabling them to function as mentor schools for other PM SHRI institutes. Regular monitoring will be carried out through block resource persons (BRPs) and cluster resource persons (CRPs) using a standardised checklist that tracks student learning outcomes, teacher attendance and training, infrastructure improvements and community participation. Ranjan said, “Progress reports will be shared regularly with district and state leadership to ensure accountability and sustained improvement. The state was steadily strengthening PM SHRI schools through a phased approach. Schools were also strengthened through the establishment of school innovation councils, improved infrastructure, smart classrooms, ICT and science labs, sports facilities, vocational education, libraries and enhanced learning environments.”In PM SHRI school selection in 2024, more than 13,000 schools participated through an open challenge platform, out of which 325 schools were selected as PM SHRI schools.