RIGHT TO EDUCATION BILL INTRODUCED IN PARLIAMENT,
SARVA SIKSHA ABHIYAN AND MID-DAY MEAL SCHEMES FURTHER INTENSIFIED, SIX NEW
IITs, ONE NEW IIM, RECOMMENDATIONS OF PAY REVIEW
COMMITTEE FOR UNIVERSITY TEACHERS ACCEPTED….. THE LIST OF ACHIEVEMENTS IS
LONG
PART- I ( DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY )
THE RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND COMPULSORY
EDUCATION BILL, 2008:
The Constitutional (Eighty Sixth) Amendment
Act, 2002 notified on 13th December 2002, inserted Article 21-A
in the Constitution, which provides that ‘the State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children
of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law,
determine’. Section 1(2) of the Constitutional (Eighty Sixth) Amendment
Act, 2002 provides that ‘it shall come
into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in
the Official Gazette appoint’.
‘The Right of Children
to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008’ was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 15.12.2008. The Notification
of the Constitution (86th Amendment) Act, 2002 would be issued
in the official Gazette after "The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Bill, 2008" is enacted by the Parliament.
The Right of Children
to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 provides for:
(i)
The right of children to free and compulsory
education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school. It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’
means obligation of the appropriate government to provide free elementary
education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary
education to every child in the six to fourteen age group. It makes provisions
for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class.
(ii)
It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate
Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory
education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the
Central and State Governments
(iii) It
lays down the norms and standards relating inter
alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs),
buildings and infrastructure, school working days, teacher working hours.
(iv)
It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified
pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than just as an
average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there is no
urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for prohibition
of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census,
elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster
relief.
(v)
It provides
for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers with the
requisite entry and academic qualifications;
(vi)
It prohibits
(i) physical punishment and mental harassment, (ii)
screening procedures for admission of children, (iii) capitation fees, (iv)
private tuition by teachers, (v) running of schools without recognition,
(vii)
It provides for the following penalties:
a.
For charging capitation fee = fine
upto 10 times the capitation fee charged,
b.
For resorting to screening during
admission = Rs 25,000 for first contravention; Rs 50,000 for each subsequent contravention,
c.
For running a school without recognition
= fine upto Rs one lakh,
and in case of continuing contravention Rs 10,000 for each day during which the contravention continues
(viii)
It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with
the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round
development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge, potentiality
and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a
system of child friendly and child centred learning.
(ix)
It provides for protection and monitoring of the child’s right
to free and compulsory education and redressal of
grievances by the National and State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights,
which shall have the powers of a civil court.
The Right of Children
to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008 would lead to significant reform
in the Elementary Education System and would ensure Universalisation
of Elementary Education of satisfactory and equitable quality.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) programme was started
in 2001-02 to universalize elementary education in the country, in a time
bound manner. The programme seeks to provide access,
equity, retention and quality in the area of elementary education.
Financial progress during 10th
Plan & 11th Plan
The total outlay for the 10th Plan was Rs.17000 crores. The releases by the Central Government and
expenditures during the 10th Plan were as follows:-
(Rs. in Crores)
|
Year
|
GOI Budget
|
GOI Releases
|
Actual
Expenditure
(Out of total funds available)
|
|
2002-03
|
1569.26
|
1569.26
|
1305.65
|
|
2003-04
|
2732.32
|
2732.29
|
3057.48
|
|
2004-05
|
5079.58
|
5139.75
|
6598.39
|
|
2005-06
|
7810.75
|
7568.40
|
10002.33
|
|
2006-07
|
11104.00
|
10886.55
|
14779.29
|
|
Total
|
28295.91
|
27896.25
|
35743.14
|
o
In 2007-08, GOI released Rs.11480.61 crore to the States/UTs against
which the expenditure was Rs.15565.57 crore.
o
Upto 25.11.08
against BE 2008-09 of Rs.13100 crore, Rs.7611.27
crore (58.10%) have been released to the States/UTs.
Physical Progress against key inputs of SSA since inception
of the programme:
|
Sl.
No.
|
Items
|
Cumulative Targets since inception including 2008-09
|
Cumulative Achievement upto 30.09.08
|
|
1.
|
Opening of New Schools
|
304853
|
261562 (85.79%) Opened
|
|
2.
|
Construction of school buildings
|
248064
|
212677 (85.73%) Completed & in
Progress
|
|
3.
|
Construction of additional classrooms
|
939136
|
883479 (94.01%) Completed & in
Progress
|
|
4.
|
Drinking water facilities
|
193009
|
182539 (94.58%) Completed & in
Progress
|
|
5.
|
Construction of Toilets
|
264638
|
247071 (93.36%)
Completed & in Progress
|
|
6.
|
Teacher appointment
|
12.27 lakh
|
9.66 lakh
(78.8%)
Completed
|
|
7.
|
Teacher training (20 days)
|
4069694
(Annual 2008-09)
|
1824475 (45%)
Completed
|
|
8.
|
Supply of Free Textbooks
|
8.97 crore
(Annual 2008-09)
|
8.11 Cr. (90%)
Supplied
|
|
9.
|
KGBV Schools
|
2598
|
2159 (83%)
Operationalized
|
Area Intensive & Madrassa
Modernization Programme (AIMMP):
The Madrassas
Modernization and Area Intensive components of erstwhile scheme of Area Intensive & Madrassa
Modernization Programme (AIMMP) has been
revised as a distinct schemes. as detailed below:
(i) The
component of madrassa modernization has been revised w.e.f. November, 2008 as "The
Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrassas
(SPQEM)" to bring about qualitative improvement in madrassas and enable children to attain standards of the
national education system in formal education subjects.
An outlay of Rs.325 crore has been provided for the revised
scheme of SPQEM for the 11th Plan period, which can be enhanced, to Rs. 625 crore subject to further
availability of funds. About 6000 madrassas, 18000 madrassa
teachers and 7 lakh
children are expected to be covered under the scheme.
(ii) The
component of Area Intensive has been revised as the scheme for Infrastructure
Development in Minority Institutions (IDMI) and has been operationalised w.e.f December, 2008 to provide
augmented infrastructure in private
aided/unaided minority schools/ institutions in order to enhance quality of
education to minority children with an
outlay of Rs.125 crore
in the 11th Plan, the revised
scheme is expected to assist about 400 minority
schools/institutions.
During the current financial year,
2008-2009 Rs. 2700.02 lakh
have been released for 4597 Madrassas in the states
of Chattisgarh, Maharashtra,
UP and Madhya Pradesh under madrassa modernization component and Rs. 25.00 lakh has been released to UP state under area intensive
component of AIMMP which is 49.55% against the outlay of Rs. 55.00 crore of the scheme..
MDM scheme:
With a view
to encouraging enrolment, retention and attendance in elementary schools 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 15th August 1995, initially in 2408 blocks in the
country. The Scheme has been periodically strengthened and broadened its
coverage and now is available to all children of classes I to VIII attending
government and government aided schools and AIE/EGS centres.
The Scheme covers 11.97 crore
children in 12.79 lakh schools.
During this
year, string emphasis has been laid on effective monitoring of the Scheme, improve the infrastructure for preparation of
mid-day meal in schools and to review certain of the components. Apart from the
monitoring done by the designated 41 Monitoring Institutions, the Department
has been constantly interacting with the state representatives for improving
the implementation of the Scheme. Four Regional Review meetings have been
conducted during the year with the state governments of the North East, North,
South and West Regions. Field visits have also been conducted to obtain
first-hand knowledge of the working of the Scheme. These steps have led to
improvement in the implementation process. The Department is also in the
process of developing an MIS for strengthening the monitoring mechanism.
The
Department has undertaken a review of the cooking cost norms as states were
facing difficulties in providing the stipulated meal and had requested for
appropriate enhancement of the assistance for cooking cost. Similarly, many of
the Special category states were finding the present Central assistance for transportation
of food grains insufficient to meet the actual costs of transportation,
especially in respect of areas with hilly and difficult terrain. The Department
has also undertaken review of this component of Central assistance.
SECONDARY
EDUCATION:
- As
against an allocation of Rs.4, 325 crore during
the 10th Plan the allocation for the 11th Plan for
secondary education has been enhanced to Rs.53550 crore.
- A
National Merit-cum-Means Scholarships Scheme for award 1 lakh scholarships to Class 9 students every years @
Rs.6000 per year has been launched in 2008.
- A
new centrally sponsored scheme to establish one high quality model school
in each block of the country to serve as schools of excellence has been
launched from 2008.
- A “National
Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education”, to provide a one
time incentive mainly for SC & ST girls has been launched in 2008.
- A
new centrally sponsored scheme to set up girls’ hostels in about 3,500
educationally backward blocks has been launched in 2008-09. Under this scheme priority will be given
to girls belonging to SC/ST/OBC/ Minority communities.
- Setting
up of 20 Navodaya Vidyalayas
in districts having a large concentration of Scheduled Castes and
Scheduled Tribes has been sanctioned.
10 Schools will be set up in districts having a large concentration
of Scheduled Castes and the remaining 10 in districts having large
concentration of Scheduled Tribes.
- The
scheme of Integrated Education for Disabled Children has been restructured
to focus on children with disability at secondary stage.
- 9
new Kendriya Vidyalayas
have been opened in 2008-09.
1 new Jawahar Navodaya
Vidyalayas have been sanctioned, and 6 new Vidyalayas made functional in 2008-09.
ADULT EDUCATION:
1. A series of consultations and review meetings
have been held over the course of the last year in order to redesign the
strategy of the National Literacy Mission for basic literacy and continuing
education, including inter alia:
i.
Planning
Commission held a Consultative Meeting on 12th June
2008 to
discuss the 11th Plan strategies on Adult Education.
ii.
The National Consultation organized in NUEPA on 26th
June 2008
to recommended that adult education be viewed as
a continuum from basic literacy to continuing
education. It recommended merger of the different stages into a single programme, with concurrent and parallel planning and provisioning
for basic literacy and continuing education, so that learners could transit
from basic literacy to self-reliant learning levels without interruption.
It also made significant recommendation on the volunteer mode, since literacy
movements, the world over, have been people’s movements, driven by altruism,
selflessness and voluntarism.
iii.
The series of state-wise review meetings with Education
Secretaries conducted during June-July this year indicated that concern for
the literacy programme stills exists. There is however,
need for significant systemic reform in order to revive the literacy programmes.
iv.
The inter-departmental meetings with Ministries/Departments
of Panchayati Raj, Rural Development, Health and Family Welfare, Women and
Child Development, and other related Ministries revealed the enormous scope
for linking literacy with PRIs, SHGs
and such agencies to augment the resources for literacy.
2. In pursuance of the decision taken in
the meeting of the General Body of the National Literacy Mission Authority, a
Sub-Committee was constituted in April 2008 to suggest the ways and means to
implement the NLM’s strategy for the 11th
Plan. The Sub committee made the following recommendations:
i.
Caution against quick fix solutions to achieving high
literacy rate that
would in the long run not be sustainable.
ii.
NLM
should retain a gender focus in its literacy programmes,
with greater attention to women from SC, ST and minority groups.
iii.
Payment
of honorarium to volunteers would be financially unviable. The literacy movement
has been, and should continue to be, driven by altruism and selflessness.
NLM should ensure that it designs newer ways of sustaining volunteer interest
and motivation, and enable them to understand the larger goal of social change
for the country.
iv.
In respect
of very remote and far-flung villages, where no educated person is available
for transacting teaching learning in volunteer mode, NLM may consider payment
of honorarium to a person to reside in the village for a period of approximately
two years to provide learning opportunities to people in the village.
v.
In addition
to volunteer based approach to basic literacy, NLM should take up residential
literacy courses of different durations, mainly at the block/cluster level.
vi.
NLM
must ensure that mobilisation and environment-building
activities are not viewed as one-time activities, but permeate the entire
programme in all its aspects, including survey,
training, teaching learning process and assessment.
vii.
NLM
should set up a Committee to look into curricular equivalence for basic literacy,
continuing education, as also equivalency programmes.
viii.
NLM
should set up institutionalized, permanent centres, which would take responsibility
for basic literacy and organize a range of continuing education activities.
ix.
Convergence
with programmatic interventions under NREGA, SGSY, TSC, SHGs,
NHRM and RTI is the key to the success of the literacy programme.
x.
Full
time staff should be available at state, district, block and centre level
for undertaking the multifarious tasks of basic literacy, continuing education
and equivalency in a time bound manner
3. Inputs from the various
consultations as also the recommendations of the Sub Committee have contributed
to redesigning the strategy for adult education, which is expected to be
considered by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) shortly and thereafter by
the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
4. In preparation of approvals of the
revised strategy for basic literacy and continuing education the Executive
Committee of the National Literacy Mission constituted the following
Sub-Missions: (i) Mobilisation,
environment building and convergence, (ii) Curricular Equivalence, (iii)
Training and Pedagogy, (iv) Media and Communication, (v) Monitoring, Evaluation
and Assessment.
PART- II ( DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION )
- Six
new Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), one
each in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Orissa, Gujarat and Punjab have been set up during XI Plan. Classes have been started from the academic session 2008-09 either
through temporary premises or from the campuses of the mentor IITs.
- One
new Indian Institute of Management (IIM) namely Rajiv
Gandhi Indian Institute of Management (RGIIM) has been set up at Shillong in Meghalaya. Classes have been started from the current
academic session 2008-09.
- Five
new Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) have been set up at Kolkata,
Pune, Mohali, Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram
during XI Plan. While three IISERs at Kolkata, Pune and Mohali had already started functioning from their temporary
premises earlier, two at Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram
have started their Session from 2008-09.
- Two new Schools of Planning &
Architecture (SPAs) have been set up at Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh.p of two new SPAs. t up at Bhopal and Vijaywadaya
Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu has . Classes have
started from the academic session 2008-09 through temporary premises.
- Admission
in National Institutes of Technology (NITs) is
based on AIEEE conducted by CBSE by allocating 50% of the seats to the States
where the NITs are located and the remaining 50%
used to be earmarked for other States / UTs till
2007. From 2008 onwards, these remaining 50% of the seats are now to be
filled up on All India merit basis, as a major policy shift.
- One
new Central University, namely Indira Gandhi National Tribal University has been established at Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh under an Act of Parliament.
- The
Indira Gandhi National Tribal University at Amarkantak
is a teaching and affiliating university for facilitating and promoting
avenues of higher education and research facilities for the tribal population
of the country. The university
has started its academic programme in a modest
way, with the help of guest faculty and contractual appointees.
Admissions to B.A. (Hon.), B. Com (Hon.) and BBA courses have since
taken place for the academic session 2008-09.
- The
Pay Review Committee constituted for teachers in higher education submitted
its report which was referred to an Empowered Committee constituted on 10th October, 2008. The Central Government has accepted the
recommendations of the Empowered Committee. Consequently, pay and service conditions
in Colleges and Universities have been substantially improved in order to
attract and retain talented persons in the teaching career.
- Assistance for the establishment of 374 colleges
in districts having gross enrolment ratio in higher education lower than
the national average. 374 such districts
have been identified in the country and UGC has been asked to facilitate
the establishment of these colleges as the constituent units through the
State Universities and action is being taken to establish them for which
UGC will release a grant of Rs.2.67 crores for
each of the degree colleges.
- A new Scheme has been started to cover top 2%
of the student population of class XII (equally divided between boys and
girls on the basis of class XII results) by providing them with scholarship
of Rs.1000/- per month for 10 months in a year for under-graduate level
studies and Rs.2000/- per month for 10 months in a year for post-graduate
level studies.
- Decision taken to liberalise
research visa procedure for foreign students.
- Immediately
after the vacation of stay by the Hon’ble Supreme
Court in April 2008, directions were given for implementation of reservation
in all Central Educational Institutions. Special drive was also made to
ensure that IITs/IIMs fill up the entire reserved
category seats by organising preparatory classes
as well as remedial coaching. Rs.2522 crore has also been provided during 2008-09 to expand
the capacity of the Central Educational Institutions by 54% so that there
is no reduction in the availability of the general category seats due to
the implementation of 27% OBC reservations.
- Approval
for establishment of Central Institute of Classical Tamil has been accorded
by the Government and it has started functioning during the current year.
- National
Translation Mission Programme has been launched
by the Government for translation of existing knowledge books in English
into various languages in the 8th Scheduled of the Constitution.
- AICTE
has permitted evening shifts in the engineering colleges and polytechnics.
- The
celebrations of the first ‘National Education Day’ were inaugurated by the
President on 11.11.2008 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, in memory of the great freedom fighter,
visionary and the first Education Minister of Independent India, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad.
---------------------------------
KKP
(Release ID :45901)