Lok Sabha Question No. 512 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-07-24
Subject: Quality of Education
Ministry: Education
Asked by: Ajay Kumar Mandal, Khan Saumitra, Locket Chatterjee, Sunil Kumar Pintu, Riti Pathak, Rama Devi, Ramesh Chander Kaushik

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 512 ANSWERED ON 24.07.2023

## Quality of Education

## †512.   SHRI AJAY KUMAR MANDAL:

SHRI SAUMITRA KHAN:

MS. LOCKET CHATTERJEE:

SHRI SUNIL KUMAR PINTU:

SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK:

SHRIMATI RAMA DEVI:

SHRI RAMESH CHANDER KAUSHIK:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a)  the  details  of  the  various  initiatives  taken  by  the  Government  under  the  new  National Education  Policy  (NEP)  to  improve  the  quality  of  education  at  all  levels  from  primary  to University level;

- (b) the amount of funds earmarked for the said purpose, year-wise;
- (c) the amount of funds allocated under the NEP, State-wise especially in West Bengal; and
- (d)  whether  there  is  any  proposal  under  consideration  to  make  education  at  secondary  level, vocational-oriented  skill-based  education  so  that  students  can  get  gainful  employment  after completing class XII?

## ANSWER

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

(a): In pursuance of the goals and objectives of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), several  initiatives  have  been  started  in  School  Education  sector  viz.  National  Initiative  for Proficiency  in  Reading  with  Understanding  and  Numeracy  (NIPUN  Bharat)  for  ensuring foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3, Vidya-Pravesh-Guidelines for Threemonth  Play-based  School  Preparation  Module;  PM  e-VIDYA  to  unify  all  efforts  related  to digital/online/on-air  education  to  enable  coherent  multi-mode  access  to  education,  DIKSHA (Digital  Infrastructure  for  Knowledge  Sharing)  as  One  Nation  One  Digital  Platform  having  eBooks and e-Contents, launch of National Curriculum Framework for Foundational Stage (NCF FS) and Jadui Pitara: Learning Teaching Material (Jadui Pitara) based on NCF FS which is playbased  learning  teaching  material  tailored  for  children  between  the  age  group  of  3  to  8  years. Indian Sign Language as a Subject at secondary level by National Institute of Open Schooling;

NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement) 1.0, 2.0 and  3.0  Integrated  Teacher  Training  Programme  for  different  stages  of  school  education  for Teachers, Head  Teachers/Principals and other stakeholders in Educational  Management; National  Digital  Education  Architecture  (NDEAR)  for  creating  a  unifying  national  digital infrastructure  to  energise  and  catalyse  the  education  ecosystem,  implementation  of  a  scheme 'New India Literacy Programme or ULLAS' targeting all non-literates age 15 years and above, etc.

Similarly,  in  Higher  Education,  various  initiatives  /  reforms  have  been  carried  out  such  as National  Credit  Framework  (NCrF)  and  National  Higher  Education  Qualification  Framework (NHEQF) in conjunction with guidelines / regulations like Curriculum and Credit Framework for Undergraduate Programme; Multiple Entry and Exit in Academic Programme offered by Higher Education Institutions; Transforming Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) into multidisciplinary Institutions; pursuing two Academic Programme simultaneously; Academic Bank of Credit;  revised  regulation  of  ODL  /  Online  Education  permitting  upto  40%  credits  of  courses using  SWAYAM  platform;  guidelines  on  Professor  of  Practice  to  enable  HEIs  to  work  with industry  experts;  regulations  on  Academic  Collaboration  between  Indian  &  foreign  HEIs; regulations  on  conferment  of  Autonomous  Status  to  colleges;  guidelines  for  admission  & supernumerary  seats  for  students  from  abroad  in  UG  &  PG  in  Indian  HEIs,  regulations  on Minimum  Standards  and  procedures  for  award  of  Ph.D.  degree.  For  promotion  of  Indian Knowledge,  Guidelines  for  Incorporating  Indian  Knowledge  in  Higher  Education  Curricula; Guidelines for Training/Orientation of Faculty on Indian Knowledge System (IKS); Guidelines for the introduction of courses based on Indian heritage and culture; Guidelines for Empanelment of  Artists/Artisans-in-Residence in Higher Educational Institutions; 32 IKS centres have been set  up  to  catalyze  original  research,  education  and  dissemination  of  IKS;  64  high  end  interdisciplinary  research  like  ancient  metallurgy,  ancient    town  planning  and  water  resource management, ancient rasayanshastra  etc.  projects  are  undergoing.  Around  3227  internships  on IKS have been offered.

(b)  and  (c):  National  Education  Policy  2020  (NEP)  unequivocally  endorses  and  envisions  a substantial  increase  in  public  investment  in  education  by  both  the  Central  and  all  State Governments. The Centre and the States / UTs work together to increase the public investment in Education sector to reach 6% of GDP. Various schemes/projects/programmes run by Ministry of Education  have  been  aligned  with  NEP  2020.  As  far  as  Central  Government  is  concerned, yearwise total Budget Allocation of the Ministry are given in table below:

## (Rs. in Crores)

| Details of Budget Allocation   | Details of Budget Allocation   |
|--------------------------------|--------------------------------|
| Financial Year                 | Total Budget Allocation        |
| 2020-21                        | 99311.52                       |
| 2021-22                        | 93224.31                       |
| 2022-23                        | 104277.72                      |
| 2023-24                        | 112899.47                      |

(d):  The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  is  implementing  the  initiative  of Vocationalisation of School Education under the umbrella of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'Samagra Shiksha'. The scheme aims at integrating Vocational Education with general academic education in all Secondary/Senior Secondary  schools; enhancing the Employability and

Entrepreneurial abilities of the students, providing exposure to work  environment; and generating  awareness  amongst  students  about  various  career  options  so  as  to  enable  them  to make a choice in accordance with their aptitude, competence and aspirations. The scheme covers Government  and  Government  aided  schools.  Under  the  Scheme,  National  Skill  Qualification Framework (NSQF) compliant vocational courses are offered to the students from class 9th to 12th in the schools covered under the scheme.

In order to fulfill various objectives of NEP 2020, the existing scheme of Samagra Shiksha has been  revamped  and  various  new  interventions  relating  to  Vocational  Education  have  been incorporated. Some of them are as under:-

· Coverage of Vocational Education has been expanded to cover Government aided schools also in addition to Government Schools.

·  Hub  and  Spoke  Model  of  Vocational  Education  has  been  introduced  providing  for  the utilization of the infrastructure available in the Hub schools by the students of nearby schools (spoke schools) for vocational training.

· Exposure of pre-vocational education at Upper Primary level.

· Internships, bagless days etc., have been included under Innovation component of Samagra Shiksha.

***