After a long hiatus, India’s Indian students are returning to school in record numbers, a development that could help the country’s economy, boost exports and spur growth.
On Thursday, the Education Ministry said it will expand the enrollment of 6,600 new primary schools by 2020-21, bringing the total number of schools in the country to 7,700.
It also announced a national rollout of 100 lakh free internet cafés across the country.
It is a huge boost for the education sector, which has been hit hard by a weak economy, as well as by the high cost of living in the capital Delhi.
In the past five years, the number of primary schools in India has dropped by 15% as students have shifted to cheaper private schools.
But as the number and quality of schools have grown, the government has been looking to increase the number by encouraging parents to send their children to private schools for a better learning experience.
A new plan, announced on Thursday, aims to create at least 500,000 free internet schools across the nation by 2020.
“We are working on this plan to ensure a better education for our students,” Education Minister M Venkaiah Naidu told NDTV, adding that the government would expand the number, while also offering incentives to parents for sending their children.
The government has also set up a programme to help parents send their kids to private and government schools, and offer them special scholarships to encourage them to enroll.
A total of 2,721 new schools will open in India by 2021, according to the Education Department.
This is expected to bring the total enrollment of primary and secondary schools to around 7,300, or around 3.8% of the country as a whole.
India will also open a new 300-km-long highway connecting Delhi to Mumbai, the countrys second-largest city, which will also be connected to the national network.
The new road will be the largest in the world, and is expected by some to be one of the world’s fastest roads, according to the World Economic Forum.
The plan also includes the construction of 1,500 new schools across India, with more to follow.
