The name of Mitra Institution Bhawanipur, the historic south Calcutta school where Syama Prasad Mookerjee, whose 125th birth anniversary was celebrated on Monday, studied, has been forwarded to the nodal official of the state education department for inclusion in the Centre’s PM SHRI scheme and Atal Tinkering Labs.

Currently, there are no PM SHRI schools in the state, although the Suvendu Adhikari government is preparing a list of target institutions for referral.

PM SHRI School (Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India) is a centrally-sponsored scheme designed to upgrade and develop existing schools into high-quality model institutions. The Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL), a designed workspace, is aimed at fostering curiosity and creativity among students from Class VI to Class XII and is being established by NITI Aayog.

The referral was made through a letter — The Telegraph has a copy — from the district education officer to the state project director and nodal officer for the scheme within about three hours of Suvendu flagging the idea during his speech at the school.

“My representatives, who visited the school recently, noted the lack of funds and resources for the school. From my MLA development funds, I commit ₹25 lakh to the school and also request the school and higher education ministers, present here, to see what else can be done for the school; particularly whether it can be included in the PM SHRI scheme,” said Suvendu in his address at the school.

“We do not envisage any problem in turning Mitra Institution Bhawanipur into a PM SHRI school,” school education minister Dipak Burman told The Telegraph.

The chief minister, accompanied by school headmaster Raja Dey, toured the school premises and visited the classroom where Syama Prasad took tuitions in his student days.

“Mitra Institution (Bhawanipur) is one of the most historic and distinguished educational institutions in West Bengal. Established in the nineteenth century, the institution has made remarkable contribution to education and nation-building,” reads the letter.

It further adds: “… At present, the institution requires significant infrastructural upgradation and modern educational facilities. The inclusion under the PM SHRI school and ATLs scheme would facilitate the development of smart class rooms, ICT- enabled learning, modern laboratories, library enhancement … skill education, green initiatives and other components envisaged under the National Educational Policy (NEP 2020) …”.

Once the school is brought under the PM SHRI scheme, the fortunes of the struggling institution will change, school officials and alumnae expressed hope.

“We need a major upgrade in both infrastructure and academic process; presently, our arts section in higher secondary does not have any permanent teachers,” said headmaster Dey.

“Sometime back, we prepared a rejuvenation plan for the school after an elaborate interaction with all stakeholders. We plan to upgrade it and share it with the school education department and the chief minister’s office soon,” said Kaushik Chatterjee, secretary of the alumni group trust, Amra Sobai Mitra 1981.

“We welcome the state government’s proposal to resurrect Mitra Institution Bhawanipur, which has long been due. All the stakeholders, including the alumnae, will extend the fullest cooperation to the government in this regard,” said Parthapratim Pradhan, an alumnus and principal of Sagore Dutta Hospital.

Though the PM SHRI was launched nationally in 2022, the scheme has only been initiated in the state since the new government signed an agreement with the Union government.

The state education department is considering upgrading close to 1,000 state-run schools into modern, eco-friendly facilities under the scheme, and Mitra Institution, a political priority for the BJP government, can be one of the earliest to receive approval.