The Union Cabinet of India approved the building of an additional 57 new Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs). Announcing the same on Wednesday, the Union Minister of Railways of India, Ashwini Vaishnaw, said it would benefit more than 86,000 students. Among these new KVs, at least seven will be Union Home Ministry-sponsored, and the rest will be by state governments. Twenty of the newly approved KVs are proposed to be opened in districts where no KV presently exists, despite a significant number of Central Government employees.
"The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has approved opening of 57 new Kendriya Vidyalayas under Civil sector across the country to facilitate the educational needs of the wards of increased number of central government employees," Vaishnaw said.
The cost of opening these new schools is estimated at Rs 5862.55 crore, spread over a period of nine years from 2026-27. This includes the capital expenditure component of Rs 2585.52 crore and operational expenditure of Rs 3277.03 crore.
What’s first in these KVs?
It is worthwhile to note that, as exemplar schools for National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, for the first time, these 57 KVs have been sanctioned with Balvatikas — three years of the foundational stage (pre-primary).
The Government of India gave a green signal to the Scheme of KVs in November 1962 to provide educational facilities of uniform standard throughout the country to cater to the educational needs of wards of transferable and non-transferable employees of the Central Government, including Defence and Paramilitary forces. Consequently, "Central Schools Organization" was started as a unit of the Ministry of Education of the Government of India.
"Opening of new KVs is a continuous process. The Ministry and KVs regularly receive proposals from various Sponsoring Authorities, including Central Government Ministries, departments, states, and UTs, for the opening of new KVs. These proposals are sponsored by the concerned sponsoring authority — state, UTs, Ministries, Departments of Central Government," an official statement said.
At present, there are 1,288 functional KVs, including three abroad — Moscow, Kathmandu, and Tehran. The total enrolment of students is around 13.62 lakh.
"Together with the earlier sanctioning of 85 KVs, the instant proposal responds to the high demand for KVs while balancing pan-India expansion. The CCEA has approved 7 KVs sponsored by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the remaining 50 by State and UT authorities," it said.
"The 57 new proposals for Kendriya Vidyalayas reflect a strong commitment to reaching underserved and strategically important regions. The proposal demonstrates an approach, which anchors growth in the East while ensuring balanced representation across North, South, and West to strengthen inclusivity and national integration," the statement said.
This proposal covers 17 states and UTs, continuing the 85 KVs approved in December 2024. Despite having a sizable workforce from the Central Government, 20 of these 57 KVs are planned to be established in districts without a KV at the moment. In addition, five KVs are suggested in NER and hilly regions, four KVs in LWE districts, and fourteen KVs in aspirational districts.
"In continuation of sanction of 85 KVs accorded in December 2024, further 57 new KVs have been approved by prioritising those states which had not been covered since March 2019." The administrative structure for implementing the project will require creation of posts at par with the norms fixed by the Sangathan for running of one full-fledged KV with a capacity of approximately 1,520 students. Hence, 86,640 students would benefit, it said.
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