New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS): The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a centrally sponsored scheme for setting up more than 14,000 PM Shri schools (PM Schools for Rising India) across the country.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting that the scheme, which has been approved after discussing with all the states, will strengthen the existing schools from among those managed by Central government, state governments and local bodies.

Under the project, which has a total cost of Rs 27,360 crore for the next five years, the Centre will allocate 60 per cent of funds while states will contribute the remaining 40 per cent, Pradhan said.

With the Cabinet approving the scheme, it will be implemented from the current financial year itself, the minister added.

A portal will be designed to track the performance of students and to make the school administration more transparent, he said.

Under this, Rs 2 crore per school will be allocated for five years, which will be directly given to the schools, the minister said, adding that the Central government will monitor the transfer and usage of funds by the schools.

These PM Shri schools will showcase implementation of National Education Policy 2020 and emerge as exemplar schools, official sources said.

These will produce holistic and well-rounded individuals. The pedagogy will be more experiential, integrated, inquiry as well as discovery driven, sources said.

Pradhan said that almost all the states are on board for implementing the scheme.