Lok Sabha Question No. 5926 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-04-10
Subject: Shortcomings of Education System
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Shrirang Appa Barne, SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 5926 TO BE ANSWERED ON 10.04.2017

## Shortcomings of Education System

## 5926.   SHRI SHRIRANG APPA BARNE: DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

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

steps are being taken by the Government to improve the quality of education at the institutional level;

(b) whether the Government is considering for a holistic review of the standard of education, involving all the stakeholders, improving the infrastructure, imparting essential faculty training and including a greater role for the private sector;

- (c) if so, the initiatives taken by the Government in this regard;

(d) whether the Government has decided to expend the Digital literacy in rural India through the National Digital Literacy Mission; and

- (e) if so, the details thereof and steps taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## (DR. MAHENDRA NATH PANDEY)

(a) to (c) : Improving the quality of education across all levels from primary to university level is a  continuous  and  ongoing  process.  The  42 nd Constitutional  Amendment,  1976  brought  about  a fundamental change by transferring education from the State List to the Concurrent List giving equal responsibility  to  both  the  Central  and  State  Governments  to  promote  education.    Recognizing  the centrality of states both in policy formulation and effective implementation of education reforms, the Ministry of HRD has been regularly convening meetings of the Central Advisory Board on Education (CABE), which is a composite body and is also the highest advisory body on education.

Poor quality of education resulting in unsatisfactory learning outcomes is a matter of grave concern. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 lays down the duties of the appropriate Government and the local authority to ensure that good quality elementary education conforming to norms and standards is provided, that curriculum and courses of study are prescribed in a timely manner, and that teachers are trained. In order to focus on quality education, the Central RTE Rules have been amended in 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 been finalized and shared with all States and UTs. Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Sarva Shiskha  Abhiyan  (SSA),  the  State  &  UT  Governments  are  supported  on  several  interventions  to improve  teaching  standards,  including  regular  in-service  teachers'  training,  induction  training  for newly  recruited  teachers,  training  of  all  untrained  teachers  to  acquire  professional  qualifications through  Open  Distance  Learning  (ODL)  mode,  recruitment  of  additional  teachers  for  improving pupil-teacher  ratios,  academic  support  for  teachers  through  block  and  cluster  resource  centres, continuous and comprehensive evaluation system to equip teachers to measure pupil performance and provide remedial action wherever required, grants for development of appropriate teaching-learning materials, etc. 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,  Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha Abhiyan  (RMSA),  ICT  in  Schools,  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  on  Teacher  Education  (CSSTE), Shaala  Siddhi,  Rashtriya  Avishkar  Abhiyan  are  being  implemented  to  improve  the  quality  of secondary education. In higher education also, various schemes, namely, Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA), Global Initiative for Academics Network (GIAN), Impacting Research, Innovation & Technology (IMPRINT), Technical Education Quality Improvement Programme (TEQIP), Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT), Study Webs of  Active-Learning  for  Young  Aspiring  Minds  (SWAYAM),  National  Digital  Library,  campus connect programme, Uchhatar Avishkar Abhiyan, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan are being implemented to improve the quality of higher education. A number of initiatives are  also undertaken by UGC and AICTE for quality improvement in higher and technical education.

(d) and (e): The Government has recently approved a scheme titled 'Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA)' to usher in digital literacy in rural India by covering 6 crore rural households  by  31.03.2019.  The  Government  has  implemented  two  Schemes  for  providing  Digital Literacy  to  the  masses  viz.  Scheme  for  IT  Mass  Literacy  renamed  as  National  Digital  Literacy Mission  (NDLM)  and  Digital  Saksharta  Abhiyan  (DISHA)  with  a  cumulative  target  of  52.5  lakh persons  across  the  country.  Under  these  two  Schemes,  around  53.46  lakh  beneficiaries  have  been trained and certified.

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