Lok Sabha Question No. 3030 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-15
Subject: Distribution of Textbooks during Lockdown
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Kanimozhi Karunanidhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION AND LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3030 TO BE ANSWERED ON 15 th March, 2021

## Distribution of Textbooks during Lockdown

- (a) the details of extra funds allocated to the States for the distribution of textbooks and other physical learning materials to students during the lockdown;
- (b) the details of extra funds allocated to States for enhancing WASH facilities (water, soap and functional toilets) of schools;
- (c) whether the Government is tracking out of school children and taking steps to
- (e) whether the Government is developing learning models recover lost instructional time for the students who lacked access to technology during the

3030. SHRIMATI KANIMOZHI KARUNANIDHI : Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state: support their return to school; (d) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; lockdown; and

- (f) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

- (a) Under Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha, an outlay of Rs. 2871.73 crore has been approved for distributing free text books to 9.73 crore children at the

elementary level in 2020-21.

- (b) Under Samagra Shiksha, States and UTs are supported for strengthening of existing Government schools, and for creation and augmentation of infrastructure facilities including drinking water and toilets as per proposals received from respective

States/UTs. Under Samagra Shiksha, the following approvals have been given in 202021 for enhancing WASH facilities and ensuring safe school operations.

-  An outlay of Rs. 3771.82 crore under composite school grant which inter-aila includes safe school operations, sanitization and ensuring basic wash facilities, safe drinking water, availability of essentials like alcohol rub/sanitizer disinfectant, cleaning material, thermal screening facilities etc.
-  An outlay of Rs. 256.16 crore for training of members of School Management Committees (SMC)/ School Management and Development Committees (SMDC) to make them aware of Covid-19 situation and to create awareness amongst the students and parents,
-  Rs. 129.73 crore for media and community mobilization to create awareness about safety precautions.
-  Rs. 51.04 crore for Safety and Security at school level as per Covid-19 Guidelines,
-  Rs. 417.44 crore for orientation of teachers on safety and security and ensuring safe school operations.

(c) & (d) Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools come under the purview of the respective State and UT Governments. In order to mitigate the impact of challenges thrown by the COVID-19 pandemic for migrant children and for preventing drop outs, lower enrolments and loss of learning the Ministry of Education issued guidelines for identification, smooth admission process and continued education of migrant children on 13 th July, 2020. The guidelines can be accessed at https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/mhrd/files/Migrant% 20labour%20 guideline.pdf. The states have been asked to identify and enrol all children of migrant children without any procedural formalities and maintain a database of migrant children admitted.

Further, in order to ensure that the children have access to education with quality and equity, the Department of School Education has prepared and issued detailed guidelines on 7th January, 2021, on the steps to be taken by the States and UTs.The guidelines, among others, include identification of out of school children from age 6-18

years through door to door survey, enrolment drives and awareness generation, continued Education for children with Special Needs (CWSN) etc. The guidelines can be accessed at https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/ mhrd/files/guidelines\_oosc.pdf.

- (e) & (f): Various efforts have been made providing access to learning in the form of DIKSHA portal (https://diksha.gov.in/), SWAYAM Portal (swayam.gov.in), SWAYAM Prabha, DD Channel, e-Pathshala (https://epathshala.nic.in/), NROER (National Repository of Open Educational Resources) portal (https://nroer.gov.in/welcome), radio, community radio and CBSE podcasts etc. The medium of TV, radio has been used for the students who do not have access to digital means.

To address the issues related to gaps and/or loss of learning among students, during the lockdown, NCERT has prepared 'Alternative Academic Calendar' and 'Students Learning Enhancement Guidelines' with a focus on learning outcome. The guidelines suggest models for the following three types of scenarios:-

- (i). Learning Enhancement during COVID-19 for students without digital devices.
- (ii). Learning Enhancement during COVID-19 for students with limited accessibility to digital devices.
- (iii). Learning Enhancement during COVID-19 for students with digital devices.

The guidelines can be accessed at:

https://ncert.nic.in/pdf/announcement/Learning %20Enhancement Guidelines.pdf

Further, the Department of School Education has prepared and issued detailed guidelines on 7 th January, 2021, on the steps to be taken by the States and UTs interalia for closing the gap in learning on re-opening of schools, which includes School Readiness Module/Bridge Course, identification of children across different grades based on their learning levels, relaxation from detention for current academic year, improving with reading with comprehension and numeracy skill and large scale remedial/Learning Enhancement Programmes.

********