Mumbai: BMC to set up labs for astronomy in its schools

An astronomy laboratory at a BMC-run school in Worli

The BMC wants its students to reach for the stars. Literally. From the next academic year, students of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation-run schools will be able to observe space and cosmic events.

"We have decided to set up a laboratory each in 100 civic-run schools so students can study space," said Joint Municipal Commissioner Ajit Kumbhar. "The process of preparing a tender for the same is in the final stage. Soon, we will publish the tender. We have such a laboratory at a Worli civic school. We are getting good responses from the students there," he added.

"These laboratories will help students understand the subject better. These 100 laboratories will also have telescopes so that students can observe cosmic events. The labs will be mainly for Stds VIII-X students. In future, some students could make a career in this subject," he added.

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According to the budget document of 2022-23, the BMC had made a provision of Rs 70 lakh to develop laboratories in 25 schools. Now, the BMC has come up with the idea for these laboratories. "The list of schools where these labs will be located is not yet finalised. However, students from nearby BMC schools will be able to use the labs. A timetable will be prepared to enable this," said Kumbhar.

More CBSE schools

The BMC is thinking of increasing the number of its schools with the Central Board for Secondary Education (CBSE) curriculum. The necessary infrastructure will be inspected for this, said an official. There are currently 11 civic-run CBSE and ICSE schools and one each of the International General Certificate of Secondary Education and International Baccalaureate schools.