Move over, broken benches and dirty toilets. Thirty government schools in Dhanbad are all ready to get a spiffy makeover, thanks to the municipal corporation.

From smart classrooms and state-of-the-art science labs to adequate number of teachers, well-stocked libraries, well-maintained classroom furniture and playgrounds, the ambitious plan wants to put 30 government schools on a par with private ones.

Dhanbad mayor Chandrashekhar Agarwal said they wanted the makeover of government schools to give children from poorer homes a shot at quality education. “From a list of 300 government schools, we chose 30, covering all five circles of the district, Jharia, Dhanbad, Sindri, Katras and Chatatand, for the makeover. Our only criteria for the makeover is that the schools should have electricity, water supply and land. The detailed project report for this is being prepared by Dhanbad Municipal Corporation with private consultant Piyush Plantation,” he said. “We should begin the work from July.”

He added that renovation would begin in this current fiscal year itself. The first will be Zilla School, Dhanbad, and gradually expand to the 29 other schools selected by them.

“Let me clarify, we are not just thinking about physical infrastructure but also deploying enough manpower by recruiting teachers,” said Agarwal.

On the school that would be the first to benefit from the plan, the mayor said: “Zilla School Dhanbad is a centrally located government plus two school in Babudih on 10 acres of land. It has 744 students on its rolls. To its existing 14 classrooms, we will add 40 more. We will upgrade its laboratories, library and sports infrastructure.”

Principal Kanti Rani Lal expressed his pleasure at the proposed renovation.

“A team of consultants, led by an engineer, recently visited us to take details of all available infrastructure including the condition of the building and boundary wall, electricity and water supply source, quality of water, playground, among others. We gave them all details, including that on land and the building of the school that had been developed way back in 1956. This renovation is a matter of great pride for us,” he said.