Minister of State for Human Resource Development Upendra Kushwaha on Thursday said that the Central government has sanctioned INR 488.2 crore for the training of teachers and students in 2441 schools across the country to promote innovative and progressive ideas among them.
While replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, the minister said the MHRD has launched a number of training programmes such as Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL), Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Atal Tinkering Marathon (ATM) for their training in schools.
“As of December 2017, over 2441 schools have been selected for establishment of ATLs,” the minister said, adding, “The total amount sanctioned for these schools is INR 488.2 crore for the total duration of the programme.”
The minister said the sanctioned amount for each school is INR 20 lakh over five years, out of which, INR 12 lakh is provided in the first tranche.
“As on February 28, 2018, over 1100 schools have been transferred the first tranche of grants under the programme,” he said.
The minister further said the first round of 22 teacher-training workshops for the schools selected in 2017 was organized between August and December last year.
“Workshops for the Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL) programme started from 2017-18 onwards, wherein teachers and students are given exposure for tinkering and acquainted with the futuristic technology,” Kushwaha said.
“The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) conducted the Atal Tinkering Marathon (ATM), which was a four-month-long nationwide challenge started in September 2017, focusing on six different areas of national importance. Schools are also independently conducting trainings for their students and teachers,” he added.