Kochi

Primary education in Kerala may not be a major concern as it is in the rest of the country. But infrastructure in education continues to be pathetic in the State. Desks, benches, tables, chairs, drinking water, libraries are all prerequisites to good school environs.

Realising this, tobacco and processed food major ITC Limited has included the State in its national-level programme called Classmate Education, which is being implemented in association with the "Community Aid and Sponsorship Programme (CASP)."

The Rajagiri School of Social Sciences in Kochi, the nodal centre for CASP in the State, will be engaged in Classmate Education Programme in Malappuram district, which was selected due to its inherent backwardness in education as compared to other districts. Classmate Education Programme would cover 18 schools in the current financial year.

The programme plans to upgrade infrastructure facilities in Government and aided schools in three years. It will be implemented in three stages. ITC also plans to cover about 100 schools on the basis of an assessment report provided by the Education Department in Malappuram district.