Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Friday said the government will start five “Schools of Excellence” next year in order to provide better quality education.

“These schools will impart education in English language. The admission process for nursery to Class V and, Class IX and XI will be conducted under the neighbourhood criteria next year,” Sisoida, who also holds the education portfolio, told the media.

He said the proposal to open these schools was approved in a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

The schools, to be initially opened in Rohini, Madanpur Khadar, Khichripur, Kalkalji and Dwarka, will start functioning from the coming session in April 2018.

“The vision of the government is to ensure at least one school of this format in each of the 29 zones of Delhi,” said Sisodia.

He said the Education Department’s proposal for setting up a “world-class” skill centre was also approved at the Cabinet meeting.

“The skill centre will be set up in Jonapur Village in South Delhi district at an estimated cost of around Rs 254 crore with an aim to provide skill development facilities at par with global standards,” he said.

The centre will have the departments of Hospitality and Tourism, Retail Merchandising, IT and IT-enabled services, Accounts, Banking and Finance, Food Processing, Logistics, Electronics, Production and Manufacturing, Automobile, and Health and Wellness.

Each department is proposed to have 500 seats for the one-year duration courses. The courses will be added or replaced as per demand from time to time.

Currently, one such centre is functioning at ITI-Vivek Vihar with training courses available in sectors like Hospitality, Retail Services, Software Testing and Finance.

The Deputy Chief Minister also said that the government would start the Mission of Excellence in Sports scheme, under which, a sportsperson would be supported for his/her needs related to food and nutrition, sports equipment, sports kits, training and travel, boarding and lodging (within the country and abroad) and medical facilities.

“The quantum of support will be demand-linked but will not exceed Rs 16 lakh per year,” he added.