Raipur: Chhattisgarh on Friday announced that it would open 100 boarding schools in 2008-09 for tribal children to improve the state's literacy levels.

The government will spend Rs.57 million to set up such schools in tribal hamlets of 13 of the state's 16 districts, it said.

Each school will enrol 50 students for primary classes and they will be provided free food apart from all educational facilities. Called 'ashram schools', they will be funded by the state's tribal department.

The concept of ashram schools has been in practise in Chhattisgarh for quite a few years and it aims at encouraging poor tribals to send their children to schools without investing a single rupee and help the government improve the literacy level. IANS