Lok Sabha Question No. 2288 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-02
Subject: Education for Children of Farmers and Labourers
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: Dileshwar Kamait

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2288 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2019

## Education for Children of Farmers and Labourers

## †2288.SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

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

- (a) the  schemes  being  run  by  the Government  especially  in  rural  areas  to ensure the bright   future of the children of farmers and labourers in the country; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) & (b): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, entitles every  child  of  age  6  to  14  years  to  a  right  to  free  and  compulsory  education  in  a neighbourhood school till completion of elementary education. Section 8(c) of the RTE Act, 2009  provides  that  the  appropriate  government  would  ensure  that  the  child  belonging  to weaker section and the child belonging to disadvantaged group are not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds. Further, Section 12 (1) (c) of RTE Act, 2009 provides that all specified category schools and unaided schools  shall  admit  at  least  25%  children  belonging  to  weaker  section  and  disadvantaged group in the neighbourhood in class I and provide free and compulsory elementary education till its completion.

Samagra  Shiksha,  an overarching programme  for  the school education  sector extending  from  pre-school  to  class  XII,  aims  to  ensure  inclusive  and  equitable  quality education at  all  levels  of  school  education.   It  envisages  the  'school'  as a  continuum  from pre-school, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels.  Bridging gender and social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme. The scheme reaches out to girls, Children with Special Needs (CwSN) and children belonging  to  Scheduled  Caste  (SC),  Scheduled  Tribe  (ST),  minority  communities  and transgender.  The focus of major interventions under the Scheme includes provision of RTE

Entitlements such as free uniforms, text books, special training of Out of School children etc., provision  for  Inclusive  Education of  Children  with  Special  Needs  (CwSN)  and Vocational Education  among  others.    The  scheme  also  gives  attention  to  urban  deprived  children, children  affected  by  periodic  migration,  including  children  of  farmers  and  labourers  and children  living  in  remote  and  scattered  habitations.  Under  the  scheme,  provision  has  been made  for  giving  preference  to  Special  Focus  Districts  (SFDs),  Educationally  Backward Blocks (EEBs), LWE affected districts, and aspirational districts while planning interventions like setting up/ upgradation of schools upto senior secondary level, strengthening of existing infrastructure,  upgradation  and  running  of  Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika  Vidyalayas  (KGBVs), residential schools and hostels, etc.

The Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme provides for opening of one JNV in each district of the  country  to  bring  out  the  best  of  rural  talent.    Its  significance  lies  in  the  selection  of talented  rural  children  as  the  target  group  and  the  aim  to  provide  them  quality  education comparable to the best in a residential school system.

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## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2288 TO BE ANSWERED ON 02.12.2019

## Education for Children of Farmers and Labourers

## †2288.SHRI DILESHWAR KAMAIT:

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

- (a) the  schemes  being  run  by  the Government  especially  in  rural  areas  to ensure the bright   future of the children of farmers and labourers in the country; and
- (b) if so, the details thereof?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a)  &  (b):  The  Right  of  Children  to  Free  and  Compulsory  Education  (RTE)  Act,  2009 provides every child of the age of 6-14 years, the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school till the completion of his or her elementary education.  Section 4 of the RTE Act provides for special training for age appropriate admission of out of school children. Those children who have missed out certain academic years either because they were never enrolled in school or dropped out of school, have a right to Special Training in residential and non residential mode, subsequently to be mainstreamed in formal schools in age appropriate class. Sections 8(C) and 9(C) of RTE Act 2009 makes it obligatory upon the 'Appropriate Government' and 'Local Authority' to ensure that the child belonging to weaker section and the child belonging to disadvantaged groups are not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds. Section  12 (1) (C) of the Act mandates all private aided, Special Category schools and private unaided schools to admit to the  extent  of  at  least  25%  of  the  strength,  children  belonging  to  weaker  section  and disadvantaged group.

Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development is implementing  Integrated  Scheme  for  School  Education  (ISSE)  namely Samagra  Shiksha , effective from 2018-19. The Integrated Scheme for School Education envisages the 'school' as  a  continuum  from  Pre-school,  primary,  upper  primary,  secondary  to  Senior  Secondary levels. It supports  States  and  UTs  in implementation of  the  RTE  Act,  2009.

## Major Provisions under Samagra Shiksha for Education of Children:

(I)    Free  Uniform  and  Textbooks :  The  major  interventions,  across  all  levels  of  school education, proposed under the Samagra  Shiksha  scheme includes RTE  Entitlements including  uniforms and textbooks. The  Scheme  will  provide  two  sets  of  uniform  to  all girls,  SC,  ST  children  and Below  Poverty  Line  (BPL)  children and  there  is  support  for provisions    for    textbooks    to    all    children    in  Government/Local  Body  and  Government Aided schools, including Madarsas desirous of introducing the  State  curriculum,  at  primary level  and at  upper primary  level.

(II) Vocationalization of School Education: Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision for  vocationalisation  of  School  Education.  It  seeks  to  integrate  vocational  education  with general  academic  education  with  an  aim  to  prepare  educated,  employable  and  competitive human  resource  for  various  sectors  of  the  economy  and  the  global  market.    Till  the  year 2018-19, the scheme has been implemented in 8654 schools.

(III)  State specific interventions for Adolescents :  Further, Special state specific projects for  varied  interventions  under  equity  are  emphasized  for  enhancing  access,  retention  and quality by promoting enrolment drives, retention and motivation camps, gender sensitization modules  etc.  Financial  Support  is  also  provided  under  State  Specific  projects  as  per  the allocation of flexi fund under quality to the state subject to viable proposal received from the respective State and UTs.

State  specific  projects  for  varied  interventions  including  menstrual  health  and hygiene  are  sanctioned  by  the  Project  Approval  Board  as  per  the  Annual  Work  Plans proposed by the State/UT concerned which are as under:

(Rs. in lakh)

| Particular                                                                                                 | Budget Approved for the year 2019- 20   | Budget Approved for the year 2019- 20   |
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------|
|                                                                                                            | Physical                                | Financial                               |
| A. Elementary                                                                                              |                                         |                                         |
|  Adolescent Programme for Girls Students and Empowering Adolescents with life skills education in schools | 12533                                   | 1037.6                                  |
|  Drug /Substance abuse camp                                                                               | 1                                       | 40.00                                   |
| B. Secondary                                                                                               |                                         |                                         |
|  Adolescent Programme                                                                                     | 197691                                  | 2316.27                                 |
|  Sanitary pad Vending &incinerator machines                                                               | 14957                                   | 4415.48                                 |
|  Drug /Substance abuse camp                                                                               | 1                                       | 40.00                                   |

( Source: PMS)

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## Navodaya Vidyalaya Scheme

The  National  Policy  on  Education-1986  envisaged  setting  up  of  residential schools, to be called Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas that would bring out the best of rural talent.

It  was  felt  that  children  with  special  talent  or  aptitude  should  be  provided opportunities  to  progress  at  a  faster  pace  by  making  good  quality  education available  to  them  irrespective  of  their  capacity  to  pay  for  it.  Such  education would enable students from rural areas to compete with their urban counterparts on an equal footing.

The Navodaya Vidyalaya System which began as a unique experiment, is today unparalleled  in  the  annals  of  school  education  in  india  and  elsewhere.  Its significance lies in the selection of talented rural children as the target group and the  attempt  to  povide  them  quality  education  comparable  to  the  best  in  a residential school system.