Inclusive, Equitable and Quality School Education
Union Minister of State for Education, Smt. Annpurna Devi, told the Parliament the other day that the government’s overarching “Samagra Shiksha” programme has improved the access, infrastructure and quality of education throughout the country.
It may be noted that the 2018-19 Union Budget had proposed to treat school education holistically without segmentation from pre-nursery to Class 12.
Samagra Shiksha prgramme covered the school education holistically with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes. It subsumed the three erstwhile Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE).
Samagra Shiksha prgramme’s silent features are as follows:
– Universalising access to quality education by provision for new/ upgradation of schools from pre-primary to senior secondary level and strengthening of existing schools including provision of barrier free access for Divyang children. Addition of new subjects instead of Streams in existing senior secondary schools.
– Support for mainstreaming of out of school children extended from elementary level to children in the age group of 16-19 years through open schooling.
– Provision of upgradation of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) to provide residential and schooling facilities upto Class-XII. Provision of Incinerator and sanitary pad vending machines in all girls’ hostels.
– Provision of free textbooks to all children and free uniforms to all girls, SC, ST and BPL boys at elementary level including primers/textbooks for tribal languages with bridging materials.
– Transport facility extended to secondary level @ upto ₹ 6000 per annum, for children in difficult sparsely populated areas.
– Residential schools/hostels named Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas in hilly terrain, small and sparsely populated areas for children without adult protection who are in need of shelter and care.
– Provision of upto₹ 500 per child per annum for Teaching Learning Materials, indigenous toys and games, play based activities for pre-primary sections in Government Schools.
– Support for NIPUN Bharat Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy through provision of TLM upto ₹ 500 per child per annum, ₹150 per teacher for teacher manuals and resources, ₹ 10-20 lakh per district for assessment, Teacher training on FLN.
– Provision for qualitative and innovative interventions such as Holistic Progress Card (HPC), sports grant, library grant, composite school grant, teacher training, strengthening of TEIs, assessment cell, Bagless days, school complexes, internships with local artisans, curriculum and pedagogical reforms etc.
– Self-Defence training for girls under ‘Rani Laxmibai Atma Raksha Prashikshan’ and amount for the same has been increased from ₹ 3000 to ₹ 5000 per month.
– Provision of upto₹ 3500 per child with special needs, per year, studying in government, government aided and local body schools for aids and appliances, teaching material, home based education etc.
– Separate provision of stipend for CWSN girls @ ₹ 200 per month for 10 months, in addition to student component from pre-primary to senior secondary level.
– Annual identification camps for CWSN at block level @₹ 10000 per camp and equipping of Block Resource centres for rehabilitation and special training of CWSN, and training of special educators & Block Resource Persons.
– Academic support of BRCs and CRCs extended for pre-primary and secondary level.
– Enhanced emphasis on convergence with Skills and other Government departments/agencies undertaking development works for providing exposure and internships to children on different vocations.
– Support under Vocational Education extended to Government aided schools also in addition to Government Schools and grant/number of job roles/sections linked to enrolment and demand.
– Provision of Classroom cum workshop for Vocational Education in schools serving as Hub for other schools in the neighbourhood. Provision of transport and assessment cost for schools serving as spokes.
– Provision of ICT labs, Smart classrooms including support for digital boards, virtual classrooms and DTH channels.
– Child tracking for tracking the learning level of children for students of Government and Government aided schools.
– Support States & UTs for implementation of provisions of RTE Act including reimbursement under Section 12(1) (c) of the Act.
The achievements of Samagra Shiksha are as follows:
During 2018 to 2022 (Infrastructure),
– 10151schools have been upgraded at Elementary, Secondary and Higher Secondary level
– 76 new residential schools/ hostels have been opened
– 79431 schools have been strengthened (including Additional classrooms)
– 17554 schools have been covered under ICT & Digital initiatives
– 6370 schools have been covered under vocational education
– 357 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class X
– 2010 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class XII
– 26184 separate girls’ toilets have been constructed.
Further, During 2018-19
– 4.78 lakh out of school children were provided special training at elementary level,
– 4.24 lakh children were provided transport and escort facility,
– 16.76 lakh children were covered under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act,
– 6.96 Cr children were provided free uniforms,- 8.72 crore children were provided free textbooks at elementary level,
– 74.4 lakh children were provided remedial teaching,
– 14.58 lakh teachers were trained,
– 69173 schools provided self defence training to girls,
– 3.79 lakh CWSN girls were provided stipend and
– 23183 special educators were provided financial assistance.
During 2019-20,
– 5.07 lakh out of school children were provided special training at elementary level,
– 6.78 lakh children were provided transport and escort facility,
– 21.58 lakh children were covered under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act,
– 6.89 Cr children were provided free uniforms,
– 8.78 crore children were provided free textbooks at elementary level,
– 176 lakh children were provided remedial teaching,
– 28.84 lakh teachers were trained,
– 166528 schools provided self defence training to girls,
– 3.22 lakh CWSN girls were provided stipend and
– 24030 special educators were provided financial assistance.
During 2020-21,
– 3.26 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level,
– 2.42 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility,
– 32.67 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act,
– 6.57 Cr children have been provided free uniforms,
– 8.84 Cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level,
– 1.44 Cr children have been provided remedial teaching,
– 14.44 lakh teachers have been trained,
– 83021 schools provided self defence training to girls,
– 3.68 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend and
– 23331 special educators have been provided financial assistance.
During 2021-2022,
– 8.61 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at elementary level
– 6.66 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility
– 25.40 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(1)(c) of the RTE Act
– 6.15 Cr children have been provided free uniforms
– 9.44 Cr children have been provided free textbooks at elementary level
– 1.30 Cr children have been provided remedial teaching
– 8.6 lakh teachers have been trained
– 119283 schools provided self-defence training to girls
– 4.02 lakh CWSN girls have been provided stipend
– 24646 special educators have been provided financial assistance.
