Lok Sabha Question No. 4284 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-27
Subject: Samgara Shiksha Scheme 2.0 for Universalisation of Quality Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Ranjeetsingh Naik Nimbalkar, Saikia Dilip

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-

## 4284

ANSWERED ON- 27/03/2023

## SAMGARA SHIKSHA SCHEME 2.0 FOR UNIVERSALISATION OF QUALITY EDUCATION

## †4284. SHRI RANJEETSINGH NAIK NIMBALKAR:

## SHRI DILIP SAIKIA:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  whether  the  Government  has  approved  Samagra  Shiksha  Scheme  2.0  under  School Education Programme for universalization of quality education;

(b) if so, the objective, salient features and main focus of the scheme thereof;

(c)  the  steps  being  taken  to  improve  access  of  girls  to  education  and  to  ensure  that  girls complete their school education from pre-school up to 12th class in all States of the country under the said scheme;

(d) whether any time limit has been fixed to provide facility of ICT labs, smart classrooms including support for digital boards, virtual class and DTH Channels in all schools across the country; and

(e) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (SMT. ANNPURNA DEVI)

(a) to (c): The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing an Integrated Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  School  Education-  Samagra  Shiksha  since  2018-19.  The scheme  has  now  been  redesigned  and  aligned  with  the  recommendations  of  the  National Education Policy, 2020 and continued till 2025-26. It aims 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 major objectives of the Scheme are: (i) Support States and UTs in implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020); (ii) Support States in implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009; (iii) Focus on Early Childhood Care and  Education; (iv) Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy; (v) Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st century skills among the students; (vi) Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students; (vii) Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education;  (viii)  Ensuring  equity  and  inclusion  at  all  levels  of  school  education;  (ix) Strengthening  and  up-gradation  of  State  Councils  for  Educational  Research  and  Training (SCERTs)/State  Institutes  of  Education  and  District  Institutes  for  Education  and  Training (DIET) as nodal agency for teacher training; (x) Ensuring safe, secure and conducive learning environment  and  maintenance  of  standards  in  schooling  provisions  and  (xi)  Promoting vocational  education.

The major features and interventions of Samagra Shiksha for improving the access, infrastructure and quality of education throughout the country are (i) Universalizing access to quality school education by expansion of schooling facilities in the uncovered areas through up-gradation  of  schools  up-to  senior  secondary  level  (ii)  Ensuring  availability  of  adequate infrastructure to ensure that schools conform to the prescribed norms (iii) Annual Grant of Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 20,000/- per school for strengthening of Libraries (iv) Composite school grant of Rs. 25,000-1 Lakh to be allocated on the basis of school enrolment, out of which at-least 10% is to be spent on Swachhta Action Plan (v) Annual Grant for sports equipments at the cost of Rs. 5000-25000 per school (vi) Allocation for children with Special Needs (CwSN) of Rs. 3,500 per child per annum including a stipend of Rs. 200 per month for CWSN girls to be provided from Classes I to XII (vii) Allocation for uniforms at the rate of Rs. 600 per child per annum at elementary level (viii) Allocation for textbooks at the rate of Rs. 250/400 per child per  annum  at  elementary  level  (ix)  Running  and  Upgradation  of  Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika Vidyalayas  (KGBVs)  from  Class  6-8  to  Class  6-12  (x)  Strengthening  Teacher  Education Institutions like SCERTs and DIETs to improve the quality of teachers (xi) Enhanced use of digital technology in education through smart classrooms, digital boards and DTH channels (xii)  Support  States  &  UTs  for  implementation  of  provisions  of  RTE  Act,  including reimbursement under Section 12(1)(c) of the Act (xiii) Setting up of residential schools and hostels for difficult areas and for children in difficult circumstances.

Under  Samagra  Shiksha,  various  interventions  have  been  targeted  for  girls,  which include opening of schools in the neighbourhood to make access easier for girls, free uniform and  text-books  to  girls  up  to  Class  VIII,    additional  teachers  and  residential  quarters  for teachers in remote/hilly areas,  appointment of additional teachers including women teachers, stipend to CWSN girls from class I to class XII , separate toilets for girls, teachers' sensitization programmes  to  promote  girls  participation,  gender-sensitive  teaching-learning  materials including text books etc.

Further, under Samagra Shiksha, special state specific  projects for varied interventions under   equity  are  emphasized  for  enhancing    access,    retention    and    quality  for  girls    by promoting  enrolment  drives,  retention and motivation camps, gender sensitization modules etc. Such projects include life skills, awareness programmes, incinerators, sanitary pad vending machines etc.

To reduce gender gaps at all levels of school education, there is a provision of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) under Samagra Shiksha. 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). The KGBVs are set up in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) of a State/UT where the female rural literacy rate is below the national average. Under  Samagra  Shiksha,  provision  has  been  made  to  upgrade/converge  the  KGBVs/Girls' Hostel, as feasible, up to senior secondary level.

(d) & (e): Under the Samagra Shiksha scheme, financial assistance is provided to States and UTs for undertaking various activities for universalisation of school education including setting up of ICT Labs and Smart Class rooms.

The financial assistance is based on the annual plans prepared by the States and UTs as per  their  requirements/  priority  and  is  reflected  in  their  respective  Annual  Work  Plan  and Budget (AWP&B) Proposals. These plans are then appraised and approved/estimated by the Project  Approval  Board  (PAB)  in  the  Department  of  School  Education  &  Literacy  in consultation  with  the  States  and  UTs  as  per  the  programmatic  and  financial  norms  of  the scheme and physical and financial progress of the State for the interventions approved earlier.

The ICT and Digital Initiatives component of Samagra Shiksha covers Government and Government aided Schools having classes VI to XII as per the following provisions:

## A. Budgetary provisions

The non- recurring/recurring grant under 'ICT and Digital Initiatives' for schools is available to the States and UTs for following two options:

Option I: Under this option, schools which have not availed the ICT facility earlier can either opt for ICT or smart classrooms as per their requirement and need. In case of more than 700 enrolments, an additional ICT lab can also be considered.

Option II: Under this option, schools which have already availed the ICT facility earlier can avail smart classrooms/tablets as per the norms of the scheme.

## B. Financial provisions

ICT Lab: A non-recurring grant of up to ₹ 6.40 lakh per school and recurring grant of upto ₹ 2.40 lakh per school per annum for a period of 5 years.

Smart Classrooms: The non-recurring grant for Smart Class rooms is of ₹ 2.40 lakh and the recurring grant is ₹ 0.38 lakh. To facilitate online education, a comprehensive initiative called PM eVIDYA has been initiated as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan on 17th May, 2020, which unifies all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode access to education. The initiative includes:

·  DIKSHA  (one  nation,  one  digital  platform)  is  the  nation's  digital  infrastructure  for providing  quality  e-content  for  school  education  in  states/UTs  and  QR  coded  Energized Textbooks for all grades are available on it.

·  One  earmarked  Swayam  Prabha  TV  channel  per  class  from  1  to  12  (one  class,  one channel).

· Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani.

·  Special  e-content  for  visually  and  hearing  impaired  developed  on  Digitally  Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in sign language on NIOS website/ YouTube.

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