Most of these areas are located in the Malwa region, which also includes Lambi, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal's assembly constituency. Additional schools are expected to be built in Bathinda, Muktsar, Mansa, Patiala, Sangrur and Ferozepur.

Under the scheme, to be launched under the Ministry of Human Resources Development's Department of School Education and Literacy, 6,000 schools will be opened in the backward areas of the country, 2,500 in the first phase this year.

The Centre will provide Rs 3 crore to develop infrastructure in addition to a Rs 75-lakh annual fund to cover the recurring expenses. The Central government will bear 75 per cent of the recurring and the non-recurring expenditure, and the remaining amount will be borne by the state.

However, land for the schools will be provided by the state governments. The schools with regional language as medium of instruction will run classes from IX to XII, while the English-medium ones will have classes from VI to XII.

The schools, to be set up on Navodaya pattern, will be affiliated to the Centre Board of School Education (CBSE).