Lok Sabha Question No. 101 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-11-29
Subject: Funds for Schools
Ministry: Education
Asked by: S. Jagathrakshakan

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

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 101 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29.11.2021

## Funds for Schools

## 101. SHRI S. JAGATHRAKSHAKAN:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  agrees  with  the  view  that  along  with  physical  or infrastructural investments, schools must allocate dedicated resources and adopt to train the trainer approach to make the learning lasting;
- (b) if so, the measures taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) to (c): Samagra  Shiksha is an overarching programme for the school education sector extending from pre-school to class XII and aims to ensure inclusive and  equitable  quality  education  at  all  levels  of  school  education.  The  Integrated Scheme  launched  in  2018-19,  envisages  the  'school'  as  a  continuum  from  preschool, primary, upper primary, secondary to senior secondary levels. The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned  with  the  recommendations  of  NEP  2020  to  ensure  that  all  children  have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which  should  take  care  of  their  diverse  background,  multilingual  needs,  different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

The  following  major  steps  have  been  taken  by  the  Government  to  improve quality of education:-

1.  Central  RTE  Rules  have  been  amended  on  20th  February,  2017  to  include reference on class-wise, subject-wise Learning Outcomes at Elementary level.
2.  A  70  indicator  based  matrix  Performance  Grading  Index  (PGI)  has  been developed to grade the States and UTs.
3.  National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) has been launched for ensuring that every child in the  country  necessarily  attains  foundational  literacy  and  numeracy  (FLN)  by the end of Grade 3.
4.  Codification  of  Learning  Outcomes  has  been  developed  for  the  foundational stage.
5.  Learning Outcomes for Secondary level have been notified.
6. An  initiative has  been  launched  to improve learning outcomes  at the Elementary  level  through  an  Integrated  Teacher  Training  Programme  called NISHTHA  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  Samagra  Shiksha  in August  2019.  The  aim  of  this  training  is  to  motivate  and  equip  teachers  to encourage  and  foster  critical  thinking  in  students,  handle  diverse  situations and act as first level counsellors.

Due  to  the  COVID  pandemic  and  in  order  to  provide  continuous learning opportunities to the teachers at the elementary level, NISHTHA online was  launched  using  DIKSHA  platform  in  October  2020  to  reach  out  to  the remaining  elementary  teachers.  NISHTHA  online  for  elementary  teachers covers  18  courses  in  11  languages.  Teachers  were  oriented  on  various aspects  related  to  Learning  Outcomes,  Competency  Based  Learning  and Testing,  Learner-centered  Pedagogy,  School  Safety  and  Security,  Personalsocial qualities, Inclusive Education, ICT in teaching-learning including Artificial  Intelligence,  Health  and  well-being  including  yoga,  new Initiatives  in School  Education  including  library,  eco  club,  youth  club,  kitchen  garden, School Leadership qualities, Environmental Concerns, Pre-school, Prevocational  Education  and  School  Based  Assessment  in  a  joyful  learning manner.

7.  NISHTHA 2.0 for Secondary/Senior Secondary level teachers with 66 modules was launched on 29th July 2021.
8.  NISHTHA 3.0  on  Foundational  Literacy  and  Numeracy  with  12  modules  for Primary level teachers was launched on 7th September 2021.
9.  Support  is  provided  under  Samagra  Shiksha  for  improvement  of  quality  of education  for  various  interventions  such  as  (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.

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