ISRO's Chandrayaan missions will be made part of Uttarakhand's school curriculum: Minister

India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole on August 23.

Uttarakhand Higher Education Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said on Friday said ISRO's Chandrayaan missions will be made part of the school syllabus in the state. "Chandrayaan-3 mission has made the world realise the talent of India's scientists. We have decided to introduce the ISRO's Chandrayaan missions in the school curriculum from class 6-12 to inculcate a scientific temper among our students," Rawat said.

According to the minister, ISRO's lunar missions -- Chandrayaan-1, Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3 -- will be included in the school curriculum. India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole on August 23.

Rawat also said 20 government colleges in Uttarakhand will be re-equipped with new infrastructure and developed as research-based model colleges under the National Education Policy 2020. New PG blocks will also be created for Arts and Science faculties in six selected government colleges under the plan.

Over Rs 159 crore have been sanctioned by the state government for infrastructure development in the colleges selected for the purpose, he said, adding that Rs 129 crore will be spent on reconstructing and developing 20 selected government colleges as research-based model colleges. Meanwhile, Rs 30 crore will be spent for creating new PG blocks for Arts and Science faculties in six government colleges, Rawat said.

The colleges to be developed as research-based model colleges include postgraduate colleges in Rudrapur, Kashipur, Champawat, Bageshwar, Pithoragarh and Haldwani, he said. These colleges will have modern IT facilities apart from women's and men's hostels, labs and e-learning rooms, the minister said.

The six govt PG colleges where PG blocks for science and arts faculties are to be constructed are Government Post Graduate Colleges in Syalde, Berinag, Kapkot, Tanakpur, Thatyud and Someshwar, he said.