Lok Sabha Question No. 1210 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-12-06
Subject: Education after Covid-19 Pandemic
Ministry: Education
Asked by: S. Jagathrakshakan, Komati Reddy Venkat Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1210 TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.12.2021

## Education after Covid-19 Pandemic

## 1210.  SHRI S. JAGATHRAKSHAKAN: SHRI KOMATI REDDY VENKAT REDDY:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware of the challenges of students going back to schools after Covid19 Pandemic and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Government agrees that there is a need for a well designed strategy to rectify the damage done by the absence of proper schooling for more than a year;

(c)  if  so,  the  new  guidelines  issued/  implemented  after  re-opening  of  schools  along  with  the views considered before taking any decision?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (c) Education  being  in  the  concurrent  list  of  the  Constitution  and  majority  of  the schools, colleges and universities are under the domain of respective State and UT Governments. However in these challenging circumstances, the Ministry of Education took up the responsibility to continue the education of the students through multiple alternative ways while ensuring safety and wellbeing of the students.

The Department of School Education  and Literacy has issued detailed  SOP/guidelines regarding health and safety precautions for reopening of schools after issue of Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) guidelines for unlock-5, on 5 th October, 2020. These guidelines can be accessed at : https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload\_files/mhrd/files/SOP\_Guidelines\_for\_reopening\_s chools\_0.pdf

Further, 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 13.07.2020. To ensure that children have access to education  with  quality  and  equity  and  to  minimize  the  impact  of  the  pandemic  on  school education in the country, 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, enrolment drives and awareness generation, student support while schools are closed, continued Education for  children  with  Special  Needs  (CWSN),  student  support  on  school  reopening  and  Teacher capacity building. Further, Bridge Course Modules have been developed for bridging the learning gaps of Out of School Children studying in Special Training Centers (STC) under the provision of RTE Act, 2009.

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.

Samagra Shiksha has been aligned with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in order  to  ensure  inclusive  and  equitable,  quality  and  holistic  school  education.  The  major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the scheme are: (i) Universal Access  including  Infrastructure  Development  and  Retention;  (ii)  Foundational  Literacy  and Numeracy, (iii) Gender and Equity; (iv) Inclusive Education; (v) Quality and Innovation; (vi) Financial support for Teacher Salary;  (vii) Digital initiatives; (viii) RTE Entitlements including uniforms,  textbooks  etc.;  (ix)  Support  for  ECCE;  (x)  Vocational  Education;  (xi)  Sports  and Physical Education; (xii) Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training; (xiii) Monitoring; (xiv) Programme Management; and (xv) National Component. Samagra Shiksha also has a clear focus  on  bridging  and  eliminating  gender  differences  in  enrolment,  retention  and  quality  of learning.

A National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy called 'National Initiative for  Proficiency  in  Reading  with  Understanding  and  Numeracy  (NIPUN  Bharat)'  has  been launched by the Ministry of Education (MoE) on 5 th July 2021 under the aegis of the centrally sponsored  scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha  which  is  an  integrated  scheme  of  school  education covering from Pre-School to Senior Secondary level. The National Mission lays down priorities and actionable agendas for States/UTs to achieve the goal of proficiency in foundational literacy and numeracy for every child by grade 3. Vidya Pravesh has been launched for class 1st students. This  is  a  play  preparation  3  months  program  which  prepare  students  for  school  through playschools. Through this scheme all the remote students will have access to play schools. This scheme aims at spreading the concept of playschools to the remotest parts of the country. It aims to ensure that no student is deprived of education.

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