Lok Sabha Question No. 1258 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-06
Subject: Benefits to Tribals Under NEP 2020
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Jaswantsinh Sumanbhai Bhabhor, Parbatbhai Savabhai Patel

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1258 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2021

## Benefits to Tribals Under NEP, 2020

## † 1258. SHRI JASWANT SINGH BHABHOR: SHRI PARBATBHAI SAVABHAI PATEL:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  efforts  being  made  by  the  Government  and  the  University  Grants  Commission  on  the subject 'Ensuring Inclusive Governance: Making Every Person Matter';

(b) whether the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 aims at ensuring equity and inclusion; and

(c) if so, the details of the efforts being made by the Government to ensure that tribals across the country particularly the tribals of Gujarat get maximum benefits under the said policy?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUBHAS SARKAR)

(a):  To  ensure  inclusive  governance, UGC has taken initiatives to expand access through online and  ODL  programmes  in  more  HEIs.  To  overcome  language  barrier  being  faced  by  students, MOOCs  are  being  translated  in  Indian  languages.  Several  other  efforts  are  being  made  by Government of India and UGC such as offering financial assistance to different deprived sections of society; Swami Vivekanand Single Girl Child Fellowship for Research in Social Science; PG Indira  Gandhi  Scholarship  for  Single  Girl  Child;  Post-Doctoral  Fellowship  for  Women;  PG Scholarship  for  SC/ST  Candidates;  National  Fellowship  for  SC  Candidates;  PG  Scholarship  for Professional  Courses  for  SC/ST  candidates;  Post-Doctoral  Fellowship  for  SC/ST  Candidates; National  Fellowship  for  Students  of  Other  Backward  Classes  (OBC);  Maulana  Azad  National Fellowship for Minority Students

(b): NEP 2020 aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels of school education  and  higher  education  including  access  to  education.  Since  education  is  a  concurrent subject, State/UT Governments play a vital role in the implementation of the National Education Policy  2020.  Further,  it  aims  to  ensure  that  no  child  loses  any  opportunity  to  learn  and  excel because of the circumstances of birth or background. It proposes special emphasis to be given on Socially  and  Economically  Disadvantaged  Groups  (SEDGs).  The  NEP  2020  reaffirms  that bridging the social category gaps in access, participation, and learning outcomes in both school and  higher  education  will  continue  to  be  one  of  the  major  goals  of  all  education  sector development programmes.

(c): Department of School Education and Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education is implementing  Samagra  Shiksha  scheme,  effective  from  2018-19.  Bridging  gender  and  social category gaps at all levels of school education is one of the major objectives of the scheme. The Scheme reaches  out  to  girls,  and  children  belonging  to  SC,  ST,  Minority  communities  and transgender.    The  Scheme  also  focuses  on  the  identified  Special  Focus  Districts  (SFDs)  on  the basis of adverse performance on various indicators of enrolment, retention, and gender parity, as well as concentration of SC, ST and minority communities. The major interventions of Samagra Shiksha  include  RTE  entitlements  under  which  two  sets  of  uniforms  for  all  girls,  and  children belonging to SC/ST/BPL families' in  Government  schools  up  to class  VIII  are provided and provision  is  also  made  for    textbooks    to    all    children  including  SC/ST  in  Government/Local Body  and  Government  aided  schools, including  Madarsas. Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs). KGBVs 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).

Netaji  Subhash  Chandra  Bose  (NSCB)  Awasiya  Vidyalayas  and  Hostels  under  Samagra Shiksha are support for reaching out to children in sparsely populated, or hilly and densely forested areas with difficult geographical terrain and border areas where opening a new primary or upper primary school and Secondary/Senior Secondary schools may not be viable. Preference are given to  Educationally  Backward  Blocks  (EBBs),  LWEs,  Special  Focus  Districts  (SFDs)  and  the  115 aspirational districts.

15%  seats  for  Scheduled  Caste  and  7.5%  seats for  Scheduled  Tribes  are  reserved  in  all fresh admissions  in  all  Kendriya  Vidyalayas. Those SC/ST  students  who  are  admitted  under RTE quota are exempted from payment of fee  and also are provided with free books, uniform, stationary  and    transportation.    Also,  there  are  provision  for  reservation  of  seats  in  Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in favour of children belonging to scheduled castes and scheduled Tribes.

The Central Sector Scheme 'National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme' has objective to award scholarships 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.

D/o Higher Education is implementing three schemes for providing financial assistance to the students pursuing higher education namely; Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University  Students  (CSSS),  Special  Scholarship  Scheme  for  J&K  (SSS  for  J&K);  and  Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme  (CSIS). Further, UGC  also  offers PG  scholarships,  PG Scholarships  for  professional  courses  and  Post-Doctoral  Fellowship  for  ST  Candidates  for  the benefit of tribals across the country including tribals of Gujarat.

NEP  2020  states  that  while  several  programmatic  interventions  to  uplift  children  from tribal  communities  are  currently  in  place,  special  mechanisms  need  to  be  made  to  ensure  that children belonging to tribal communities receive the benefits of these interventions. Further, under the aegis of the Ministry of Defence, State Governments may encourage opening NCC wings in their secondary and higher secondary schools, including those located in tribal dominated areas.

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