EDUCATION
MANOJ K. JHA
1. SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN
SSA, the principal programme for Universal
Elementary Education (UEE), is the culmination
of all previous endeavours and experiences in
implementing various education programmes.
While each of these programmes and projects
had a specific focus-Operation Blackboard on
improving physical infrastructure; DPEP on
primary education; Shiksha Karmi Project on
teacher absenteeism, and Lok Jumbish Project
on girls' education-SSA has been the single
largest holistic programme addressing all aspects
of elementary education covering over one
million elementary schools and Education
Guarantee Centre (EGS)/Alternate and
Innovative Education (AIE) Centres and about
20 crore children.
• Launched in 2001, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
(SSA) is one of India's major flagship
programmes for universalisation of
elementary education. Its overall goals
include universal access and atention,
bridging of gender and social category gaps
in elementary education, and achieving
significant enhancement in learning levels
of children.
Education Guarantee Scheme and Alternative
and Innovative Education
• Education Guarantee Scheme and
Alternative Innovative Education (EGS and
AIE) is an important component of Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to bring out-of-
school children in the fold of Elementary
Education.
• The scheme envisages that child-wise
planning is undertaken for each out-of-
schoolchild.
• Under EGS, educational facilities are set up
in habitations that do not have a primary
school within a distance of 1 km.
• Any habitation with 25 out-of-schools in
the 6-14 age groups (15 in the cases of hilly
and desert areas and tribal hamlets) is
eligible to have an EGS centre.
• It is a transitory facility till primary school
replaces it within a period of two years.
• Alternative education interventions for
specific categories of very deprived children
e.g., child labour, street children, migrating
children, working children, children living
in difficult circumstances and older children
in the 9+ age group especially adolescent
girls are being supported under EGS and
AIE all over the country.
• A sizeable number of out-of-school children
are in the habitations where schooling
facility is available but these children either
did not join the school or dropped out before
completing their schooling. These children
may not fit into the rigid formal system. To
bring such children back to school, back to
school camp and Bridge Courses strategies
have been implemented. Bridge courses and
back-to-school camps can be residential or
non-residential depending upon the need
of children.
2. THE NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR
EDUCATION OF GIRLS AT
ELEMENTARY LEVEL
• NPEGEL Scheme is a holistic effort to
address obstacles to girl's education at the
micro level through flexible, decentralized
process and decision-making.
• It is implemented in educationally
backward blocs and addresses the needs of
girls who are 'in' as well as 'out' of school.
• It also reaches out to girls who are enrolled
in school but do not attend school regularly.
 • Children become vulnerable to leaving
school when they are not able to cope with
the pace of learning in class or feel neglected
by teachers /peers in class. The scheme
emphasizes the responsibility of teachers to
recognize such girls and pay special
attention to bring them out of their state of
vulnerability and prevent them from
dropping out.
• The scheme works through village level
women's and community groups to follow
up girls' enrolment, attendance and
achievement. The community is engaged in
recommending village-specific action based
on their understanding of local issues.
3. KASTURBA GANDHI BALIKA
VIDYALAYA SCHEME
• Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme
provides for setting up of residential upper
primary schools for girls for SC, ST, OBC,
and Muslim communities.
• The scheme targets areas of scattered
habitations, where schools are at great
distances and are challenge to the security
of girls. This often compels girls to
discontinue their education. KGBV
addresses this through setting up residential
schools in the block itself.
• The scheme provides for a minimum
reservation of 75 per cent seats for girls
from SC/ST/OBC/ Minority Communities
and 25% to girls from families that are
below the poverty line.
4. MID-DAY MEAL SCHEME
With a view to enhancing enrollment, retention
and attendance and simultaneously improving
nutritional levels among children, the National
Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary
Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a
Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15 August 1995,
initially in 2408 blocks in the country. By the year
1997-98, the NP-NSPE was introduced in all
blocks of the country. It was further extended in
2008 to cover not only children in classes 1-4 of
government, government- aided and local body
schools, but also children studying in EGS and
AIE centres.
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The scheme has the following components:
1. Borne entirely by state government
• Supply of free food grains i.e. 100 grams of
wheat/rice, 20 grams of pulses, 50 grams
of vegetables, and 5 grams of oil/fat per
child per school day for primary and 150
grams of wheat/rice, 30 grams of pulses,
75 grams of vegetables, and 7.5 grams of
oil/fat per child per school for upper
primary stage.
• Assistance for transportation of food grains
from FCI godowns to the schools.
• For north eastern states and Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and
Uttarakhand at the rate prevalent under
the public distribution system (w.e.f. 1
December 2009)
• For all states and UTs at @ 75 per quintal.
• Assistance for monitoring management and
evaluation, (MME) at the rate of 2 per cent
of total cost of food grains, transport cost
and cooking cost.
2. Shared with the states/UTs.
• Cooking cost @ Rs. 2.69 per child per day
for primary classes and @ Rs. 4.03 for per
child per day for upper primary classes
w.e.f. 1 April 2010.
• Payment of honorarium of Rs. 100 per
month to cook-cum-helper.
• Assistance for the cost of construction of
kitchen-cum-store to be determined on the
basis of plinth area norm and State Schedule
of Rates.
• The cooking cost, honorarium for cookscum-
help and the cost of construction of kitchen-
cum-stores will be shared between the centre
and the NER states/UTs on 75:25 basis.
5. MAHILA SAMAKHYA SCHEME
• Pursuant to the objectives of the NPE, 1986,
the Mahila Samakhya Scheme was started
in 1989 to translate the goals enshrined in
the NPE into a concrete programme for the
education and empowerment of women in
rural areas particularly those from socially
and economically marginalized groups.
 • The MS scheme recognizes the centrality of
education in empowering women to achieve
equality.
• The Mahila Sanghas or women's collectives
at the village level provide the women a
space to meet, reflect, ask questions and
articulate their thoughts and needs to make
informed choices.
• The Mahila Sanghas through various
programmes and awareness campaigns
have brought about a change in the outlook
of rural women and the effects can now be
seen in various facets of life at home within
the family, the community and at the block,
and Panchayat levels.
• The programme has also focused on
awareness of the need to educate the
children, especially girls, to give the equal
status and opportunities which has resulted
in a direct impact on enrolment and
retention of girls in schools.
• The Mahila Samakhya Scheme is currently
being implemented in ten states, viz.,
Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka,
Kerala, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand spread over 102 districts and
covering more than 21,000 villages.
• Currently, DFID (UK) is providing assistance
of 35 million sterling to this programme on
the basis of a 90:10 fund sharing pattern
between DFID and Government of India
for a seven year period from 2007-14.
6. RASHTRIYA MADHYAMIK SHIKSHA
ABHIYAN
• Launched in March, 2009, this scheme with
the objective to enhance access to secondary
education and improve its quality, envisages
to achieve an enrolment rate of 75 per cent
from 52.26 per cent in 2005-06 in secondary
stage within five years by providing a
secondary school within a reasonable
distance of any habitation.
• The other objectives include improving
quality of education imparted at secondary
level through making all secondary schools
conform to prescribed norms, removing
gender, socio-economic disability barriers,
providing universal access to secondary level
PROGRAMMES & POLICIES
education by 2017 and achieving universal
retention by 2020.
• Broad physical targets include providing
facilities for estimated additional enrolment
of more than 32 lakh students by 2011-12.
• The central government shall bear 75 per
cent and state governments will bear 25 %
of the roject expenditure during the 11th
Plan. Sharing pattern will be 50:50 for the
12th Plan. For both the Plan periods
sharing pattern will be 90:10 for the north
eastern states.
• The scheme is to be implemented by the
state government societies established for
implementation of the scheme.
• The central share is released to the
implementing agency directly. The
applicable state share is also released to the
implementing agency by the respective state
governments.
7. TEACHER EDUCATION SCHEME
• Centrally sponsored scheme of teacher
education was launched in 1987-88 with,
inter - alia, the following components:
I. Establishment of district institute of
education & training (DIETs)- by up-
gradation of existing Elementary Teacher
Education Institutions (ETEIs) wherever
possible, and establishment of new DIET
where necessary.
• The main objectives of the Teacher
Education Scheme are as follows:
1. Speedy completion of DIET/CTE/IASE/
SCERT projects sanctioned but not
completed up to the 9th Plan period,
optimally functional and operational.
2. Sanction and implementation of fresh
DIET/CTE/IASE/SCERT projects to the
extent necessary.
3. Improvement in the quality of
programmes to be undertaken by DIETs,
etc. especially those of pre-service and
in-service training, so as to enable them
to effectively play their nodal role of
improving quality of elementary and
secondary education in their respective
jurisdiction, as measured in terms of
levels of learner achievements.
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 8. NATIONAL POPULATION
EDUCATION PROJECT
• The National Population Education Project
was launched in April 1980 with the
overarching objective of institutionalizing
population education in the school
education and teacher education systems
to contribute to the attainment of population
education in the school education and
teacher education systems to contribute to
the attainment of population and
development goals of the country.
• Up to 2002, this was implemented as
externally aided project which was fully
funded by the United Nations Population
Fund (UNFPA).
• It was being implemented in the university
education and adult education sector as well.
• In view of the achievements and
significance of the project, Government of
India decided to continue it in the 10th Five
Year Plan with a more focused objective of
integrating the elements of reconceptualised
framework of population education in
school curriculum.
• UNFPA decided to support a concomitant
project focused on adolescent reproductive
and sexual health (ARSH) from 2004.
• During 2006-07, the NPEP was
implemented as an integral part of
Adolescence Education programme,
launched by ministry of human resource
development in 2005 in collaboration with
National AIDS Control Organisation.
9. SAAKSHAR BHARAT
• Since the campaign of total literacy that
began with the launching of National
Literacy Mission (NLM) in 1988, literacy
rates have moved up from 43.57 per cent
in 1981 to 64.84 per cent in 2001.
• In the context of government's overall policy
aimed at empowerment of women and in
recognition of the fact that literacy is a
prerequisite for socio-economic
development, the National Literacy Mission
has been recast as "SAAKSHAR BHARAT"
with prime focus on female literacy.
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• The flagship programme of the government
will cover all adults in the age group of 15
and beyond though its primary focus will
be on women.
• The scheme has not only been relieved of
the shortcomings noted in its preceding
editions, but also, several new features
added to it.
The mission has four broad objectives, mainly:
• Impact functional literacy and numeracy to
non-literate and non-numerate adults.
• Enable the neo-literate adults specially
younger adults to continue their learning
beyond basic literacy and acquire
equivalency to formal educational system.
• Impart non and neo-literates relevant skill
development programmes to improve their
earning and living conditions.
• Promote a learning society by providing
opportunities to neo-literate adults and
other potential learners for continuing
education.
10. JAN SHIKSHA SANSTHANS
• Jan Shiksha Sansthans (JSSs) are established
to provide vocational training to non-
literate, as well as school dropouts by
identifying skills as would have a market in
the region of their establishment.
• JSSs impart skill development training in
nearly 394 vocational courses in Cutting
and Tailoring, Beauty Culture and Health
Care, Fashion Design, Electrical and
Electronics, Automobile Repairs, Soft Toys
making, Agriculture Allied Courses, Cottage
Industry Courses, Handicrafts, Bakery and
Confectionary, Textile Technology, Leather
Technology and Building Technology.
11. VOCATIONAL TRAINING AND SKILL
DEVELOPMENT
There was an effort to launch a National Skill
Development Mission with an outlay of INR
31,200 crore to increase employment capacity
from 2.5 million to 10 million per annum. The
National Skill Development Mission was
envisioned to:
 • Modernise existing public sector
infrastructure to get into PPP mode with
functional and governance autonomy,
establish a credible accreditation system and
a guidance framework for all accrediting
agencies, encourage agencies to rate
institutions on standardized outcomes, and
establish a National Skill Inventory and a
National Database for Skill Deficiency
Mapping on a national web portal.
• Set up a National Qualifications Framework,
which establishes equivalence and provides
horizontal mobility between various
vocational, technical and academic streams
at more than one career points and a
Trainee Placement and Tracking System for
effective evaluation and future policy
planning.
• Finishing Schools will be encouraged to take
care of last mile unemployability.
• Create a National Skill Development Fund
imposing a universal skill development
obligation on industry to invest in skill
development of SCs/STs/OBCs/Minorities/
others candidates from BPL families - as
their contribution to affirmative action

PROGRAMMES & POLICIES
combined with matching Government
contribution.
12. OPEN SCHOOLING SYSTEM
• It is necessary to design, create and establish
alternative Educational provisions for some
prospective learners who will not be able to
take advantage of formal schooling during
stipulated school hours.
• The Open Schooling Programmes up to
predegree level are being offered by the
National Institute of Open Schooling
( N IO S) an d 10 St at e Op en Sc h o ols
(SOSS).
• The States that have set up SOSS are West
Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu
and Kashmir.
• The open schools network when fully
developed should be able to cater to at least
15% students in secondary education.
• The open schooling network needs to be
expanded to ensure that every state provides
Open Schooling Facility through its regional
language.
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