Lok Sabha Question No. 3396 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-08-09
Subject: Out of School Children
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Rita Bahuguna Joshi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3396 TO BE ANSWERED ON 09.08.2021

## Out of School Children

3396. SHRIMATI RITA BAHUGUNA JOSHI:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has devised a mechanism for addressing the issue of out of  school  children  and  for  bridging  their  learning  gaps  and  mainstreaming  them  in schools;
- (b) if so, the details thereof along with the number of identified out of school children, State/UT wise; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) to (c): Government of India in partnership with the States and UT Governments have taken  a  range  of  initiatives  to  ensure  that  all  children  are  enrolled  in  schools  and complete their elementary education. The Department of School Education and Literacy has  launched  an  Integrated  Scheme  for  School  Education  -  Samagra  Shiksha  with effect from 2018-19 which subsumes the three erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan,  Rashtriya  Madhyamik  Shiksha  Abhiyan  and  Teacher Education. The scheme envisages school education as a continuum from pre-school to senior secondary level and aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education for all.  Under  the  scheme,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  States  and  UTs  for undertaking  various  activities  to  reduce  number  of  Out  of  School  Children  (OoSC) including opening/strengthening of new schools upto senior secondary level, construction of school buildings & additional classrooms, setting up, up-gradation and running of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, setting up of residential schools/hostels, free  uniforms,  free  text  books,  transport  allowance  and  undertaking  enrolment  & retention drives. Further, special training for age appropriate admission of out of school children and residential as well as non-residential training for older children, seasonal hostels / residential camps, special training centres at worksites, transport/ escort facility are also supported to bring out of school children to the formal schooling system. Also, mid-day  meal  is  provided  to  students  at  the  elementary  level  of  education.  Further, under  the  student  oriented  component  for  the  children  with  special  needs,  financial assistance is provided for identification and assessment of children with special needs, aids and appliances, braille kits and books, appropriate teaching learning material and stipend to girl students with disability etc. Also, Section 10 of the RTE Act states that it shall be the duty of every parent or guardian to admit or cause to be admitted his or her child  or  ward,  as  the  case  may  be,  for  elementary  education  in  the  neighbourhood school.

Under  Samagra  Shiksha,  for  the  first  time  in  2021-22,  financial  assistance  upto  Rs. 2000 per annum has been provided for supporting Out of School Children of age group of 16-19 years, belonging to socio economically disadvantaged groups, for completing their  education  through  NIOS/SIOS,  for  accessing  course  materials  and  certification. Also, under National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme, scholarship is awarded to meritorious students of economically weaker sections to arrest their drop out at class VIII and encourage them to continue the study at secondary stage.

A comprehensive Covid action plan  has been shared with the States and UTs on 4th May 2021, outlining  the  role  of  local  bodies,  formation  of  nodal  group  at  village/town level,  conducting  door-to-door/helpdesk-based/app  based  survey  to  identify  out  of school children, their mainstreaming and resource sharing.

This Ministry has developed an online module for compiling the data of OoSC identified by  each  State/UT  and  their  mapping  with  Special  Training  Centres  (STC)  on  the PRABANDH Portal  (http://samagrashiksha.in).  The  concerned  State/UT  validates  the child wise information of the identified OoSC and STC uploaded by the concerned Block Resource Centre of the State for monitoring the progress of mainstreaming of OoSC.

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