Lok Sabha Question No. 1230 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-07-25
Subject: Bal Bhavans
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Rajashree Mallick

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.  1230 TO BE ANSWERED ON 25 th  July, 2022

## Bal Bhavans

## 1230.   SHRIMATI RAJASHREE MALLICK:

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 New Education Policy in all the districts across the country;

(c)  if  so,  the  details  thereof  State/District-wise  including  Jagatsinghpur  and  Puri  Districts  of Odisha;

(d) the details of the amount earmarked for the said project; and

(e) the time by when these are likely to be established?

## A N S W E R

## 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 main features of New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 are as follows:-

- I. NEP-2020  aims  for  Universalization  of  Education  from  pre-school  to  secondary level with 100 % GER in school education by 2030.
- II. New curricular and Pedagogical Structure (5+3+3+4).
- III. 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.
- IV. NEP  promotes  Multilingualism  in  both  schools  and  HEIs;  wherever  possible,  the medium of instruction until at least Grade 5, but preferably till Grade 8 and beyond, will be the home language/mother tongue/local language/regional language; National

Institute  for Pali, Persian and Prakrit, Indian Institute of Translation and Interpretation to be set up.

- 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.

(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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