Lok Sabha Question No. 2135 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-12-24
Subject: Modernisation of Education
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: DHARMENDRA YADAV

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

## LOK  SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2135 TO BE ANSWERED ON 24.12.2018

## Modernisation of Education

## †2135. SHRI DHARMENDRA YADAV:

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

(a) whether there is a lack of modernisation and innovations in the Indian Education System even though it is the biggest in the matter of number of Institutions and third largest from enrollment angles in the world and if so, the details thereof;

(b)  whether  certain  serious  issues  are  likely  to  be  resolved  by  providing  more  funds  and concentrating on higher education and if so, whether shortcomings have been found in education system;

(c) whether the Government proposes to safe comprehensive review of the standard of education and if so, the details thereof along with the initiatives taken by the Union Government in this regard; and

(d) whether the Government has  decided to export digital literacy in rural areas of the country thereof National Digital Literacy Mission and to impart training to the youths encommensurate with the competition in Global market and if so, the details thereof and the steps taken in this regard?

## ANSWER

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

## (Dr. SATYA PAL SINGH)

(a)  to  (c):    The  extant  National  Policy  on Education (NPE) provides for a National System of Education  which  implies  that,  up  to  a  given  level,  all  students,  irrespective  of  caste,  creed, location  or  sex,  have  access  to  education  of  a  comparable  quality.  Improving  the  quality  of education across all levels from primary to university level is a continuous and ongoing process. The Government is committed to provide equitable access to quality education to all sections of the  society  and  the  vision  of  the  Ministry  is  to  realize  India's  human  resource  potential  to  its fullest  in  the  education  sector  with  equity  and  inclusion.  The  Ministry  of  Human  Resource Development is implementing several schemes aimed at enhancing literacy and basic education of  the  youth,  expanding  access  to  all  levels  of  education,  including  higher  and  technical education.

Several  initiatives  are  currently  being  undertaken  in  this  direction,  such  as  in  elementary education, the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme aims for improvements in school infrastructure, curricular and  assessment  reforms,  identification  of  learning  indicators,  improved  teaching  and  learning resulting in better learning outcomes. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha (RSMA), 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.  Recently,  the Department of School Education and Literacy has formulated the Samagra Shiksha - an Integral Scheme for  School  Education  as  a  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  and  it  is  being  implemented throughout the country with effect from the year 2018-19. This programme subsumes the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha (RSMA) and Teacher Education (TE). It is an overarching programme for the school education  sector  extending  from  pre-school  to  class  XII  and  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.

In  higher  education  also,  various  schemes,  namely,  Rashtriya  Uchchatar  Shiksha  Abhiyan (RUSA),  Scheme  for  promotion  of  Academic  and  Research  Collaboration  (SPARC),  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.

Presently,  the  Government  is  in  the  process  of  formulating  a  New  Education  Policy  (NEP)  to meet the changing dynamics of the population's requirement with regard to quality education, innovation  and  research,  aiming  to  make  India  a  knowledge  superpower  by  equipping  its students with the necessary skills and knowledge and to eliminate the shortage of manpower in science, technology, academics and industry. For this purpose, the Government has constituted a Committee  for  preparation  of  the  draft  National  Education  Policy  under  the  Chairmanship  of eminent scientist Padma Vibhushan Dr. K. Kasturirangan, which is expected to submit its report soon.

(d): The Government has 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.

**********