Haryana to encourage corporates to fund govt school projects

Chandigarh: Companies will now be encouraged to fund government school projects in Haryana as part of the state government's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

A co-ordination committee has been formed as part of the measure aimed at filling the funding gap in the sector and improving quality of education, state Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma said here today.

He said the state was striving to uplift Education Development Indicators.

"Fortunately, Haryana has a large number of reputed corporate houses and the government is keen to attract Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds direct or indirect apart from the state budget allocated for education so as to inject quality in education system," Sharma said.

The government has framed a state-level CSR Co-ordination Committee in education with an aim to fill funding gaps in the government school projects and to avoid the duplication in ongoing projects, he said in a statement.

The committee would also identify and attend to priority area components, supplementing government activities without replacing them and forming action plans, Sharma said.

"It would co-ordinate and channelise the efforts to achieve goals and facilitate CSR works through implementing agencies like the NGOs and Corporates, monitor and review CSR activities implemented by various agencies, handhold, co- ordinate, facilitate and monitor the impact on Education Development Index (EDI) of the state or district and share best practices in CSR among corporates," he said.

There would be three separate committees so as to evolve a more scientific and professional approach in the execution of CSR activities effectively. These are State Level Steering Committee in Education, Core Committee which would be Sub-Committee of State Level Steering Committee and District Level Steering Committee in Education, Sharma said.

State Level Steering Committee (SLSC) will have Additional Chief Secretary, Secondary Education as its chairperson. Other members include Director Secondary Education, Director Elementary Education, representative of Corporate houses and Industries to be decided by CII and FICCI.

Referring to the core areas of education under CSR, Sharma said corporate or industries and NGOs can be engaged under CSR in infrastructure gap filling, capacity building, in improving quality of education, inclusive education for disabled, motivating and bringing the school dropouts to the schools and strengthening of schools running for out of children.

Establishment and development of Art and Craft or Music Labs among other measures required in the field of education for development of the state.