Lok Sabha Question No. 2049 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Bal Bhavans
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Ajay Nishad, Chandan Singh

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2049 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 th  MARCH, 2022

## Bal Bhavans

## †2049. SHRI AJAY NISHAD: SHRI CHANDAN SINGH

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) the main features of the New Education Policy;
- (b) whether the Government has set any target to establish 'Bal Bhavans' under the said policy in all the districts across the country;
- (c) if so, the details thereof including Muzaffarpur and Vaishali Districts of the State of Bihar;
- (d) the details of the amount earmarked for the said project; and
- (e)  the time by when these are likely to be established?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) :  National Education Policy 2020 paves way for transformational reforms in school and higher  education  systems  in  the  country.  The  salient  features  of  New  Education  Policy (NEP) 2020 are as follows :-

- i. New Policy promotes Multilingualism in both schools and HEIs; Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.
- ii. New Policy aims for 100 % GER in school education by 2030.
- iii. New  5+3+3+4  school  curriculum  with  12  years  of  schooling  and  3  years  of Anganwadi/ pre-schooling.
- iv. Emphasis  on  Foundational  Literacy  and  Numeracy,  no  hard  separation  between academic streams, extracurricular, vocational streams in school; Vocational Education  to  start   from Class 6 with Internships.
- v. Assessment reforms with 360 degree Holistic Progress Card and tracking Student Progress  for  achieving  Learning  Outcomes.  A  National  Assessment  Centre, PARAKH  (Performance  Assessment,  Review,  and  Analysis  of  Knowledge  for Holistic  Development),  to  be  set-up  as  a  standard-setting  body  for  transforming Assessment.
- vi. Setting-up of State School Standards Authority (SSSA) to establish a minimal set of standards based on basic parameters (namely, safety, security, basic infrastructure, number  of  teachers  across  subjects  and  grades,  financial  probity,  and  sound processes of governance), which shall be followed by all schools.
- vii. Teacher  education  to  move  into  a  multi-disciplinary  environment  and  four  year B.Ed. integrated to become a minimum degree qualification for school teachers by 2030.
- viii. Achieving 100% youth and Adult literacy.
- ix. GER in higher education to be raised to 50 % by 2035.
- x. Higher Education curriculum to have Flexibility of Subjects.
- xi. Multiple Entry / Exit, and transfer of credit through an Academic Bank of Credits.
- xii. National Research Foundation to be established to foster a strong research culture.
- xiii. Light but Tight Regulation of Higher education, single regulator with four separate verticals  for  different  functions-  the  Higher  Education  Commission  of  India (HECI).
- xiv. A  stage-wise  mechanism  for  granting  graded  autonomy  to  colleges,  through  a transparent system of graded accreditation, will be established.
- xv. NEP 2020 advocates increased use of technology with equity; National Educational Technology Forum to be created.
- xvi. NEP  2020  emphasizes  setting  up  of  Gender  Inclusion  Fund,  Special  Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups.
17. (b) to (e):   Para 7.11 of NEP 2020, recommends that every State will be encouraged to strengthen existing or establish 'Bal Bhavans' where children of all ages can visit once a week (e.g., on weekends) or more often, as a special daytime boarding school, to partake in art-related,            career-related, and play-related activities.

It would be pertinent to mention here that Education is in the Concurrent list of the Constitution  of  India  and  setting  up  of  the  schools  and  related  institutions  are  in  the jurisdiction of  the  State  and  UTs.  Therefore,  it  is  for  the  respective  State  Government  to take decision on setting up of Bal Bhavans within its jurisdictional area.

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