Bhubaneswar, April 2: Odisha is set to launch its first set of 100 English-medium schools under the aegis of Odisha Adarsha Vidyalaya in 14 districts. Classes will start from April 4.

The school logo, uniform designs and CBSE books from the National Council of Educational Research and Training are ready. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik will formally inaugurate the first model school at Hinjli, his Assembly constituency in Ganjam, on April 5.

These schools will have infrastructure and facilities on the lines of the Kendriya Vidyalayas with the prescribed pupil-teacher ratio, information communication technology (ICT) usage, educational environment, appropriate curriculum and emphasis on output and outcome. These schools will help students do better in English and science, so that they stand a better chance of making their mark in national-level competitive examinations in which the state has been faring badly.

As many as 88,318 students had applied for the 24,000 seats for Class VI, VII, and VIII in these schools. They were selected through an entrance exam that tested their English and Odia skills.

"Since each class has 80 students, (40 in each section) preference was given to students from the same block," said school and mass education department director (secondary) Ratnakar Rout. While there were 34,912 applicants for Class VI and 26,526 applicants for Class VII, there were 26,880 applicants for Class VIII.

"Girl students will wear a yellow kurti and blue salwar, while boys will wear blue pants and yellow shirt. The NCERT books (CBSE curriculum) worth Rs 1 crore have already been procured," Rout said.

As many as 905 teachers have been recruited for these schools. To start with, each school will have nine teachers. Only 21 principals have been recruited so far. For the time being, the block education officers have been given the charge till the principals are appointed.

There is shortage of teachers in the reserved SC and ST categories, especially in Hindi, Sanskrit and art, said the authorities.

A total of 79 schools have completely been handed over to the authorities. In the remaining 21 schools, classes will be held on the ground floor where the construction has been over. The authorities said residential facilities for the students would be available only from next year.

In October 2015, the state government had announced to set up 100 model schools in the backward areas despite the Centre stopping funds for this project.

Earlier, the Centre had announced to bear 75 per cent of the project cost and the state government was to take care of the rest under this programme. However the Centre abruptly stopped funding the scheme. Consequently, the state decided to go ahead on its own by opening the model schools in various blocks.

It was decided that the model schools would be opened in 100 blocks in the first phase and the rest of the blocks would be covered later. According to the scheme, there will be one model school in the headquarters of each block.