The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its green signal for setting up of one thousand additional model schools in educationally backward blocks in the country. Each of the Model Schools to be set up as benchmark of excellence will have 560 students. All States will be eligible for one model school with classes from 6 to 12 or from 9 to 12.

These Model Schools will have the same norms and standards as that of Kendriya Vidaylays or even better than them. The medium of instruction and affiliating Board will be decided by the concerned State government.

With the approval of one thousand schools, the total number of such schools will go up to 3500 benefitting 19.60 lakhs students.

Under the scheme for the setting up of such schools, 75 percent of recurring and non recurring costs will be borne by the government except for special category state for which the Centre will bear 90 percent of the cost.

The budget requirement for the additional 1,000 schools has been estimated at Rs. 3,304 crore, out of which the Centre will contribute Rs. 2,478 crore. The cost of 2,500 model schools, which were approved by the CCEA in November 2008, was estimated to be Rs. 9,322 crore during the 11th Five-Year Plan, of which the Centre's share is Rs. 7,457 crore.

The objective behind the scheme to set up such model schools is to give access to quality secondary education to talented students in rural areas.