Bhubaneswar, April 24: The school and mass education department of the state government has decided to identify 100 old institutions and turn them into "heritage schools" in an effort to preserve their glorious past.

The moves comes close on the heels of the government's model school project, which was aimed at providing quality English medium education to students in the hinterland. The move had triggered a lot of criticism with Odia-language lovers taking pot shots at the government for promoting English at the cost of state's official language.

The heritage schools, being old Odia medium institutions, would help blunt the edge of this criticism.

"Preservation and restoration play a cultural role. Old buildings teach us about how things were like even before we were born. It promotes respect for those who lived in different times and different societies. Architectural monuments cultivate pride in our past and this heritage makes them unique. Such schools bring character and a certain charm to the neighbourhood that they are located in," said director of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan Ratnakar Rout.

Rout cited the example of Kailash Chandra High School at Nilgiri in Balasore. The schools has been conferred the heritage status. "This school is where Gopabandhu Das served as the first headmaster in 1896. The institution must have had a lot of things associated with him. We intend to preserve all such things and display them for the benefit of students, teachers and general public," said Rout.

Some of the other schools in the list are Ravenshaw Collegiate School, Puri Zilla School, Balasore Zilla School and Bhubaneswar Capital High School. The department plans to preserve everything that is associated with these 100 prestigious schools and create a memorial to commemorate the past achievements of the institutions.

"We are open to the idea of including more such schools provided we are given the historical background and details of the personalities associated with them," said Rout. The schools will be renovated and made to adapt all the best practices so that they can turn into lead schools for other schools in their respective regions.

The project envisages repairing the old buildings of these schools and renovating and improving their libraries apart from filling up vacancies and providing them with computers under the government's Information and Communication Technology scheme.

Many believe that conferment of the heritage status on these schools would not only impart glory to them but also help promote Odia language since it happens to be the medium of instruction in these schools.

"Just when we see a lot of old buildings being demolished to construct shiny skyscrapers, it is extremely heartening to know that the government is taking such a step. It will not only send a very good message but also inculcate a sense of pride among students and teachers associated with these schools," said Sananda Barik, a teacher.

"It is nice to know that these old schools are not being ignored and left to decay and die. Instead the government is taking an initiative that would remind the new generation of our glorious past," said Ashutosh Pattjoshi, a local.