Lok Sabha Question No. 951 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-02
Subject: Upgradation of Schools for NEP 2020
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Gaurav Gogoi

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-951

ANSWERED ON-02/12/2024

## Upgradation of Schools for NEP 2020

## 951. SHRI GAURAV GOGOI:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to train teachers for implementation of new curriculum and pedagogy outlined in the New Education Policy, 2020;

(b) the steps taken/being taken by the Government to address the shortage of qualified teachers, especially in rural and remote areas;

(c) the details of the funds allocated for upgradation of infrastructure of schools to meet the requirements of NEP 2020; and

(d)  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  vocational  education  and  skill  development  programmes  in Assam since 2020?

## A N S W E R

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

(a):  For the implementation of new curriculum and pedagogy outlined in NEP 2020, several initiatives have  been  taken  by  the  Government.  For  pre-service  training  programmes,  Norms  and  Standards  for Integrated  Teacher  Education  Program  (ITEP),  a  four-year  undergraduate  course  designed  to  prepare teachers comprehensively for the demands of the 21 st century has been notified on 26 th October 2021.

National Professional Standards for Teachers (NPST) and the National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) have  been  developed  to  support  the  professional  development  of  teachers.  The  NPST  outlines  the competencies required for effective teaching at different career stages. The NMM focuses on creating a robust  network  of  mentors  to  provide  professional  and  personal  support  to  teachers.    Both  NPST  and NMM are accessible in formats like Braille and audio, ensuring inclusivity.

In-service teacher training has been enhanced through NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement), an integrated teacher training program launched under Samagra Shiksha. NISHTHA focuses on capacity building for teachers, school heads, SCERT and DIET faculty, and resource persons at the BRC and CRC levels to motivate and encourage teachers to develop in their students competency based higher order thinking skills.

A technology based educational platform DIKSHA (https://diksha.gov.in) has been made available under a  comprehensive  initiative  PM-eVidya.  DIKSHA  serves  as  a  national  repository  of  high  quality resources/e-contents for teaching, learning as well as capacity building of teachers and teacher educators.

Additionally,  NCERT, SCERTs, DIETs, BRCs and CRCs provide academic mentoring and support to schools and teachers through the development of support material, capacity building, on-site visits and quality monitoring and supervision.

(b): Education being a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, an overwhelming majority of the schools  in  the  country  comes  under  the  administrative  control  of  States/UTs.  The  recruitment,  service conditions and their rational deployment, including in rural and remote areas of the country, come under the purview  of  the respective  State  Governments/UT  Administrations.  Further,  recruitment  is  a continuous process and vacancies get generated due to a number of factors like retirement, resignation, increased requirement of teachers as a result of the enhanced students' strength.

The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy,  from  time  to  time,  through  review  meetings  and advisories,  requests  the  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations  to  fill  up  these  vacancies  through Autonomous Teacher Recruitment Boards and  for their  rational  deployment.  The  Central  Government through the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha provides financial assistance to the States and UTs to maintain appropriate Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) for various levels of schooling, as per norms prescribed  in  the  Right  of  Children  to  Free  and  Compulsory  Education  (RTE)  Act,  2009,  as  amended from time to time.

(c):  For  upgradation  of  infrastructure  of  schools,  under  the  Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  of  Samagra Shiksha,  financial  sanction  of  Rs.18,72,405.49  Lakhs  has  been  released  from  FY  2020-21  till  date  for 4,78,614 schools in all States/UTs.

Under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of PM SHRI a total of 12,084 schools of 32 States/UTs and the central schools of KVS and NVS have been approved for physical upgradation with financial sanction of Rs.6,82,629.65 Lakhs from FY 2023-24 till date.

(d):  The  Government  has  taken  various  steps  for  vocational  education  and  skill  development  in  the country  including  in  the  State  of  Assam.  These  include  providing  financial  support  for  infrastructural facilities  for  skill  education  in  schools,  support  for  career  guidance  and  counselling  to  students; development of curriculum, textbooks and organizing quality teacher training programmes through PSS Central Institute of Vocational Education (PSSCIVE), Bhopal; support for providing hands-on experience to students through internships, apprenticeship, industry partnership; implementation of 10 bag less days; formulation of standardized aptitude tests (TAMANNA) for Classes IX and X, etc.

As per report furnished by the state of Assam, till September, 2024, 1505 schools have been approved as Skill Schools from FY 2019-20; 63 schools are functional under Hub and Spoke from FY 2021-22; skill exposure has been given in 4219 schools from Class VI to VIII from FY 2020-21; and a total of 1,87,959 students have been enrolled in various NSQF aligned skill courses during FY 2024-25.