The Maharashtra government has sanctioned over Rs 3 crore to send 51 students who excelled in school science exhibitions on an eight-day educational trip to NASA in the United States. This initiative is part of the Mukhyamantri Vidyarthi Vigyan Yatri scheme, conceptualized by Minister of State for Education Pankaj Bhoyar.
Scheme Background and Approval
Bhoyar proposed the scheme in a letter to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis last year, emphasizing that such exposure would enhance the quality of science exhibitions. Fadnavis approved the plan during the recent assembly session. The scheme not only includes the NASA trip for top state-level awardees but also funds visits to ISRO for district-level winners.
Delegation Details
The NASA delegation will comprise 51 students, accompanied by one male teacher, one female teacher, and two administrative officers. The entire expenditure will be drawn from the state education budget under the relevant head for the State Science Education Institute.
Selection Process
Students will be selected from those who top the state-level science exhibition, across general, divyang, and tribal categories in both primary and secondary groups. The seat allocation is as follows:
- Primary general category: 17 seats
- Secondary general category: 18 seats
- Primary divyang category: 4 seats
- Secondary divyang category: 4 seats
- Primary tribal category: 4 seats
- Secondary tribal category: 4 seats
A committee chaired by the Director of SCERT, Pune, will handle the selection and planning for the NASA visit.
Multi-Level Educational Visits
The scheme, cleared by the Cabinet on March 24, links school science exhibitions at three levels—taluka, district, and state—to progressively higher-profile educational visits.
District Level
At the district level, 180 selected students and eight supervisors will visit ISRO in Bengaluru, with a per-person ceiling of Rs 35,000, funded through DPDC allocations.
Taluka Level
At the taluka level, the top six students from each of Maharashtra's 358 talukas—totaling 2,148 students and 20 supervisors—will visit the nearest regional science centre. Nagpur-region students will go to Raman Science Centre, Nagpur; Pune-region students to Pimpri-Chinchwad Science Centre; and Mumbai-region students to Nehru Planetarium.
