Lok Sabha Question No. 2858 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-20
Subject: Quality Education in Government Schools
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: KAMLA DEVI PATLE

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2858 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20 th  March, 2017

## Quality Education in Government Schools

## †2858. SHRIMATI KAMLA DEVI PAATLE:

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

- (a) whether it is a fact that the quality of education being imparted in Government schools is lower than that of private schools;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (c) whether the Government has made any assessment in this regard;
- (d) if so, the outcome thereof; and
- (e)  the  remedial  measures  taken/being  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve  quality  of education in Government schools?

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

(a) to (e): The  Central  Government    through  the    National  Council  of  Educational Research and Training (NCERT) conducts periodic national surveys of learning achievement of  children  in  grade  III,  V,  and  VIII  in  Government  and  Government  aided  schools  in  all States and UTs.  Four rounds of National Achievement Survey (NAS) have been conducted so  far  for  grade  V  and  three  rounds  for  classes  III  &  VIII.  These  reveal  improvement  in learning achievement levels of pupils, in identified subjects from first round to fourth round. For the first  time  in  2015,  NAS  has  been  conducted at  class  X  level,  for  the  Government, Government aided and private schools. Since only first round of NAS has been conducted for class  X  level,  it  is  not  possible  to  comment  on  the  comparative  learning  achievement  or decline of students of Grade X in Government, Government aided and private schools. The NAS survey for class X has revealed that there is heterogeneity in achievement scores within most States and UTs. The Central Government implements Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik  Shiksha  Abhiyan  (RMSA)  for  improvement  of  elementary  and  secondary education, respectively.

Under  SSA,  the  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations  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 the teacher to measure pupil performance and provide remedial action  wherever  required,  and  teacher  and  school  grants  for  development  of  appropriate teaching-learning materials, etc. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 specifies statutory duties and responsibilities of teachers and lays down the  minimum  qualifications  for  a  person  to  be  eligible  for  appointment  as  a  teacher  in elementary schools. For the year 2016-17, 10% of the funds under SSA have been clearly earmarked for quality interventions.

Recently, the Central Government has notified Learning Outcomes for all elementary classes which will help teachers and parents to benchmark learning levels of students.

Additionally,  the  States  &  UTs  are  supported  for  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  sub-component of SSA and 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.

In  order  to  provide  quality  education  to  students  at  the  secondary  level,  various interventions are funded under the RMSA, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme. These include provision for : (i) additional teachers to improve Pupil Teacher Ratio, (ii) induction and inservice training for Principals, Teachers , Master Trainers and Key Resource Persons, (iii) Maths and Science kits, (iv) Lab equipments, (v) Special teaching for learning enhancement,  (vi)  ICT  facilities  in  schools,  (vii)  introduction  of  vocational  education component at the secondary level.

Further,  for  improving  the  quality  of  school  education,  the  School  Standards  & Evaluation framework, known as 'Shaala Siddhi' has been developed 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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