Lok Sabha Question No. 4048 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-27
Subject: Schemes for Schools
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: PANKAJ CHOWDHARY

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4048 TO BE ANSWERED ON 27 th  March, 2017

## Schemes for Schools

## †4048.      SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY:

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

- (a)   the number of schemes formulated by the Government for education at school level;
- (b)  the number of such schemes of the Government awaiting implementation;
- (c)   whether the NITI Aayog has made any suggestions to formulate any action plan for the betterment of learning level; and
- (d)  whether the Government proposes for early implementation of all the schemes related to school education and the suggestions made by NITI Aayog and if so, the details thereof?

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

(a) & (b): The Government is implementing various centrally sponsored flagship schemes at school level for educating all children in the country, like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Mid Day  Meal  (MDM)  Scheme  at  elementary  level  and  Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha  Abhiyan (RMSA)  at  secondary  level. Two  scholarship schemes  viz., National  Means-cum-Merit Scholarship  Scheme  (NMMSS)  and  National  Scheme  of  Incentive  to  Girls  for  Secondary Education (NSIGSE) are also being implemented to arrest drop out of students at secondary level belonging to economically weaker sections of the society and SC/ST girls respectively.

(c): No, Madam.

(d): The  Department  has  taken  various  initiatives  for  improving  the  quality  of  school education. The Central Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Rules have been amended on 20th February, 2017 to include reference on class-wise, subject-wise Learning Outcomes.  The  Learning  Outcomes  for  each  class  in  Languages  (Hindi,  English  and  Urdu), Mathematics,  Environmental  Studies,  Science  and  Social  Science  up  to  the  elementary  stage have, accordingly, been finalized and shared with all States and UTs. These would serve as a guideline for States and UTs to ensure that all children acquire appropriate learning levels.

Under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes of SSA and RMSA, the State Governments and UT  Administrations  are  supported  on  several  interventions  to  improve  teaching  standards, including  regular  in-service  teachers'  training,  recruitment  of  additional  teachers,  academic support for teachers, Maths and Science kits, Lab equipments and ICT facilities in schools etc.

Additionally, the Central Government, supports States and UTs on early grade reading, writing & comprehension, and early Mathematics programmes through a sub-programme of SSA namely 'Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat' (PBBB) in classes I and II. Further, the Government has launched Rashtriya Aavishkar Abhiyan (RAA) programme on 09.07.2015, inter alia, as a subcomponent of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), to motivate  and  engage  children  of  the  age  group  from  6-18  years  in  Science,  Mathematics  and Technology through observation, experimentation, inference drawing, model building, etc. both through inside and outside classroom activities.

The Central Board of Secondary Education has decided to make Xth Board Examination compulsory  from  the  academic  year  2017-18.  It  has  also  introduced  a  uniform  system  of Assessment, Examination and Report Card for classes VI-IX that would prepare the students to face the challenge of Class X examination.

Further,  for  improving  the  quality  of  school  education,  the  School  Standards  & Evaluation  framework,  known  as  'Shaala  Siddhi'  has  been  launched  by  NUEPA,  to  enable schools to evaluate their performance in a more focused and strategic manner and to facilitate them to make professional judgments for improvement.

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