Lok Sabha Question No. 2252 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-08
Subject: Secondary Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: C.N. Annadurai, Gajanan Chandrakant Kirtikar, Dhanush M Kumar, Gautham Sigamani Pon

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOKSABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 2252

TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.03.2021

## Secondary Schools

## 2252. SHRI C.N. ANNADURAI:

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR:

SHRI DHANUSH M. KUMAR:

SHRI GAUTHAM SIGAMANI PON:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION शिक् मंत् be pleased to state:

- (a) whether as per study India has about one secondary school for every 10 SC dominated villages and every 12 ST dominated villages and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor;
- (b) whether there is disparity between primary, middle and secondary level schools and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether these schools are far away from the place of residence resulting in difficulty in reaching the school by students of SC/ST community and if so, the details thereof and the corrective steps taken by the Government;
- (d) whether the Government is providing facilities to SC/ST students of Tamil Nadu to encourage them to attend schools and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether these schools also lack basic infrastructure facilities and if so, the details thereof and the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard ?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL 'NISHANK')

(a) to (c): Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education is implementing the Samagra Shiksha scheme. Bridging Gender and Social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme. Samagra Shiksha reaches out to children belonging to Socio-Economic Disadvantaged groups including Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST).

For providing universal access to quality secondary education, the neighbourhood norms notified by the state/UT are applicable for opening of new Secondary schools. In the case of the States and Union Territories, which have not notified the neighbourhood norms for Secondary Schools, Samagra Shiksha provides support for access to secondary schools within a distance of 5 Km of a habitation while ensuring their viability and cost effectiveness.

Samagra Shiksha also focuses on the identified Special Focus Districts (SFDs). Number of Government Secondary schools approved in SC and ST SFDs are as under:

| Type of SFD   |   No. of SFDs |   No. of Govt. Secondary Schools |
|---------------|---------------|----------------------------------|
| SC            |            61 |                             4465 |
| ST            |           109 |                             7352 |

(Source: UDISE+ 2018-19 provisional)

In addition to this, under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision of flexible funds for innovation for States and UTs which, inter-alia, can be used for transport and escort facility to children of Classes IX-XII in form of bus passes, cycles etc.

There is no disparity between primary , upper primary and secondary level, as 97.48% habitations are served by Primary Schools within a radius of 1 km, and 97.01% habitations are served by Upper Primary Schools within a radius of 3 km and 92.59% habitations are served by secondary schools within a radius of 5 km (Source: AWP&B 2020-21).

- (d): In the state of Tamil Nadu, various interventions such as free uniforms, free textbooks, reimbursement towards expenditure incurred for 25% of admission under 12 (1)(c) of RTE Act, 2009, special training for age appropriate admission of Out-of-School Children (OoSC), transport facilities and state specific projects for equity etc., are provided to SC/ST children under Samagra Shiksha to encourage the participation of children in schools.

Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) which are residential schools from class VI to XII for girls belonging to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, Minority and Below Poverty Line (BPL). A total number of 105 KGBVs have been sanctioned in the State of Tamil Nadu and all are functional having an enrolment of 8966 girls. Out of 8966 girls, 2470 girls belong to SC category and 1805 in ST category.

Meritorious students, including those belonging to SC/ST whose parental income from all sources is not more than Rs. 1,50,000/- can avail scholarship under National Means cum Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMS) on the basis of a selection test. In the year 2020-21, 1286 scholarships @ Rs. 12000/- per year per student have been granted to children belongs to SC category of Tamil Nadu State.

- (e): The Samagra Shiksha scheme supports states for strengthening of school infrastructure. The scheme also provides for annual maintenance and repair of existing school buildings, toilets and other facilities to upkeep the infrastructure in good condition.

Government Secondary Schools in SC and ST SFDs having basic infrastructure facilities in terms of percentage are as under:

| Particulars                            |   Schools with building |   Drinking water facility |
|----------------------------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------|
| 4465 Govt. Secondary Schools in SC SFD |                   97.93 |                     97.63 |
| 7352 Govt. Secondary Schools in ST SFD |                   94.37 |                     96.18 |

(Source: UDISE+ 2018-19 provisional)