A STEM lab, smart classrooms, and a freshly beautified campus — a government primary school in a Terai border village just got a complete transformation. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami inaugurated the Model Primary School, Nagla Terai in Khatima, Udham Singh Nagar on Monday, 2 November 2026, marking what he called 'an extremely proud moment' for the state's education mission.

What opened at Nagla Terai — and what it costs

The ceremony covered two sites in one visit. Alongside the model school's reconstruction and modernisation, CM Dhami also dedicated the newly built stage and campus beautification works at the Government Higher Secondary School, Nagla Terai, completed at a cost of ₹65.07 lakh. The model school itself — built with support from India Glycols Limited (IGL) and state government departments — houses five modern classrooms and currently serves approximately 70 students.

The centrepiece is a specially developed STEM Lab — a hands-on space where children learn science, technology, engineering and mathematics through activity-based methods. CM Dhami also inspected the school's smart classroom and science laboratory, interacting directly with students. He distributed chocolates and gifts and pushed children on swings — a moment that, according to the official account, left both children and villagers visibly delighted.

Uttarakhand's education spending — the numbers CM Dhami laid out

Khatima was the stage, but Dhami used it to announce a wider inventory of state investment in school infrastructure. The government has released more than ₹4 crore for 32 PM SHRI schools across Uttarakhand to ensure modern learning environments under the PM SHRI scheme, the Central Government's 2022 flagship for upgrading state schools into model institutions.

For basic access, ₹8 crore has been earmarked to provide notebooks to 1,45,000 students from Class 1 through Class 12, specifically targeting families who cannot afford stationery. Tablets are being rolled out at speed for meritorious students of Classes 11 and 12 and college students. Meanwhile, 87 secondary schools are getting virtual classrooms, 264 schools are receiving smart class setups, and 16 secondary schools are being equipped with computer labs.

Free NEET and JEE coaching for 16,000 government school students

One of the more consequential announcements: more than 16,000 students from Classes 8 to 10 across 152 government and aided schools are receiving free online coaching through coaching institutions. Students in Classes 11 and 12 are additionally getting free online preparation for NEET and JEE — competitive exams that gate-keep medical and engineering colleges. The explicit stated goal is to ensure that financial hardship does not block a student's aspirations.

Infrastructure in the pipeline for Udham Singh Nagar

CM Dhami detailed regional projects already completed or underway. A modern digital library at PM SHRI Tharu Government Inter College has been built at a cost of ₹3 crore 24 lakh. A district library in Rudrapur is being constructed for over ₹1 crore. And a new building for the Government Girls' Inter College, Khatima — at a cost of over ₹5 crore — is progressing rapidly, with Dhami specifically underlining its role in advancing girls' education in the region.

The Chief Minister also invoked Prime Minister Narendra Modi's policy of declaring border villages 'India's first villages' rather than its last, framing the Terai belt's potential in horticulture, agriculture, women's self-help groups, youth startups, and even apiculture — beekeeping — as engines of local economic growth.

Among those present at the ceremony: District Panchayat President Ajay Maurya, Block Head Sarita Rana, Municipality President Ramesh Chandra Joshi, DM Nitin Singh Bhadauria, SSP Ajay Ganapati, and Director, India Glycols, Alok Singhal. In a district that sits on the edge of the Indo-Nepal border, a model school with a STEM lab is more than a building — it is a signal of which direction the state intends to grow.