Lok Sabha Question No. 2744 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-12
Subject: Education in Border Areas
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Gurjeet Singh,Aujla

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2744 TO BE ANSWERED ON 12.03.2018

## Education in Border Areas

2744.               SHRI GURJEET SINGH AUJLA:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken any steps to bring in mainstream the youth belonging to the border belt/area of Punjab;
- (b)  whether  the  Government  has  any  proposal  for  giving  special  incentives  to  the  teachers teaching in the rural areas and especially the border areas so that the quality of the education and instructions may also improve for the youth of the said areas;
- (c)  whether  the  Government  is  planning  or  has  in  stock  special  funds  for  the  development  of infrastructure of schools in border areas; and
- (d) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI UPENDRA KUSHWAHA)

(a)  :             As  informed  by  Department  of  Youth  Affairs,  in  order  to  mobilize,  motivate  and organize the youth including those belonging to border belt /area of Punjab, various programmes have  been initiated.  To  enhance  their participation  and   to  develop  democratic  institutional mechanism  and village based Youth Clubs  and to  empower them to become productive and responsible citizens, following programmes and activities are conducted by the Department of Youth  Affairs  through  Nehru  Yuva  Kendra  Sangathan  (NYKS)  in  623  districts  across  India, including border belt/area of Punjab. Some of the programmes/activities of NYKS are (i) Youth Club Development Programmes (ii) Training on Youth Leadership and Community Development (iii) Promotion of Sports in rural areas (iv) Skill up-gradation Training Programme (v) Promotion of Folk Art and Culture, (vi) District Youth Convention, etc.

The centrally sponsored scheme, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) envisages inter-alia provision of a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation  and  to  improve  quality  of  education  imparted  at  secondary  level  by  making  all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socio-economic and disability barriers etc. Students of the age group of 14-18 years form the target group of the scheme.

One  of  the  components  of  the  scheme  is  introduction  of vocational  education a t secondary  and  senior  secondary  level.  The  aim  is  to  increase  employability  of  youth  if  they aspire  to  enter  the  work  force.  Providing  vocational  Education  within  the  school  curriculum gives  students  an  exposure  to  the  world  of  work  and  helps  them  to  take  conscious  decisions about  their  future.   The Vocational  Education component  has  been  approved  in 238 schools of border  districts  of  Punjab  covering  Eleven  trades  namely  Apparel,  Agriculture,  Automobile, Beauty  &  Wellness,  Construction,  Healthcare,  lT/lTeS,  Physical  Education  &  Sports,  Retail, Security, Travel & Tourism.

(b):        The  payment  of  salary  and  allowances  and  recruitment  and  service  conditions  of Government  teachers are primarily in the domain  of respective State  governments/UT Administrations. The  Central  Government  through   RMSA  programme  provides  financial assistance/salary for teachers in new secondary school and additional teachers in existing school. Further, the Department has also requested all States/UTs regarding the desirability of having a policy to fix a minimum tenure for teachers in rural areas.

(c)&(d): Under RMSA Scheme, every year State/UT Governments propose their Annual Work Plan and Budget on basis of their requirement, for Central Assistance, which are examined and approved as per RMSA guidelines depending on the identified gaps in access in the State and physical & financial progress of earlier approved interventions.

A Statement showing approvals given in respect of Border Districts of Punjab under different components of RMSA for infrastructure development in schools is at Annexure-I .

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Statement Referred to in reply of the Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2744 to be answered on12.03.2018 regarding Education in Border Areas asked by Shri Gurjeet Singh Aujla.

## Approvals under different Component of RMSA (Punjab- Border Areas)

|   No of new Schools Approved |   No of Schools Approved under strengthening |   Girls Hostel approved |   No of Schools Approved under Vocational Education |   No of Schools Approved under ICT@ schools component |
|------------------------------|----------------------------------------------|-------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------|
|                           32 |                                          762 |                       7 |                                                 238 |                                                  1018 |

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