Lok Sabha Question No. 89 (STARRED), answered on 2024-07-29
Subject: Identification of  Educationally Backward Districts
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. Nishikant Dubey, Shri Malvinder Singh Kang

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *89 ANSWERED ON 29.07.2024

## Identification of Educationally Backward Districts

- *89 Dr. Nishikant Dubey:

Shri Malvinder Singh Kang:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has identified educationally backward districts in the country particularly in Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SCs & STs) dominated areas;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof,  State-wise including Punjab and district-wise especially in Jharkhand;
- (c) if not, the reasons therefor;
- (d) the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  for  the  development  of  educationally  backward districts during the last three years and the current year; and
- (e) the details of the targets fixed and achieved in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a) to (e) A statement is laid on the table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  89  ANSWERED  ON  29.07.2024  ASKED  BY  DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY AND SHRI MALVINDER SINGH KANG, HON'BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING IDENTIFICATION OF EDUCATIONALLY BACKWARD DISTRICTS

- (a) to (c): The Department of School Education and Literacy is premised on universal access  to  schooling  for  all  from  pre-primary  to  Class  XII  through  the  Integrated Centrally Sponsored Scheme for School Education namely Samagra Shiksha launched with  effect  from  the  year  2018-19.  Samagra  Shiksha  scheme  is  aligned  with  the recommendations of NEP 2020 and ensures that all children have access to quality education within an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which takes care of their  diverse  background,  multilingual  needs,  different  academic  abilities  and  make them active participants in the learning process.

This Department had identified Educationally Backward Blocks (EBB) in States/UTs, where the female rural literacy rate was below the national average, under the erstwhile Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) were sanctioned in EBB  as  residential schools at upper  primary  level for girls belonging  to disadvantaged groups such as SC, ST, OBC, Minority and Below Poverty Line (BPL).

However, with the launch of the Aspirational Districts Programme by NITI Aayog in January 2018 to improve the social outcomes of the backward districts, the programs of the government are now aligned to fill in the infrastructure and learning gaps in the Aspirational Districts of the country. There are 112 Aspirational Districts, across 26 States and 1 Union Territory, and the State-wise list of aspirational districts, including Punjab and Jharkhand, is given in Annexure - I.

- (d) & (e) The government through the Samagra Shiksha (SSA) scheme supports States and UTs in strengthening their existing government and govt aided schools, creation and augmentation of infrastructure facilities based on the gaps determined from Unified District  Information  System  for  Education  (UDISE+)  and  proposals  received  from respective  State/  Union  Territory.  The  need  for  schools  and  also  the  infrastructural facilities in schools are worked out every year by the respective State/Union Territory on incremental basis depending on their need and priority and reflected in their Annual Work Plan & Budget (AWP&B). 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 Union Territories. Further, special focus for SC/ST/EBBs is provided through the following schemes under SSA:

- i. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs): Under Samagra Shiksha, there is a provision  of  KGBVs  which  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. The objective behind  establishing  KGBVs is  to  ensure  access  and  quality  education  to  girls  from disadvantaged groups by setting up residential schools and to reduce gender gaps at all levels of school education.  About 1.93 lakh SC, 1.82 lakh ST, 46,432 BPL, 2.58 lakh OBC and 28,479 Muslims are currently enrolled in 5116 KGBVs nationwide.
- ii. Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Awasiya Vidyalayas (NSCBAVs)Samagra Shiksha supports the provision of residential facilities under the intervention entitled NSCBAVs, with the primary purpose of reaching out to girls, urban deprived and other disadvantaged children and creating equitable access to school education in remote, sparsely populated and difficult to reach areas, hilly terrains, areas affected by LWE, large  uninhabited  areas  with  natural  barriers  like  forests,  waterways,  rivers,  etc.  At present, there are 1179  residential schools/hostels sanctioned  (including  26  in Jharkhand and 5 in Punjab) under Samagra Shiksha.
- iii. Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PMJANMAN) which aims to saturate Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) households and habitations with basic facilities such as safe housing, clean drinking water and sanitation, improved access to education, health and nutrition, road and telecom connectivity, electrification of unelectrified households and sustainable livelihood opportunities in a mission mode. Ministry of Education is one of the participating Ministries in the Abhiyan and PMJANMAN is being implemented in convergence with Samagra Shiksha Scheme. For 2023-24, an amount of Rs. 242.17 crores has been approved for 100 hostels with the financial release of Rs. 57.6 crore. For 2024-25, an amount of Rs. 45 crores has been approved for 19 hostels.
- iv. RTE Entitlement - Provision of Free Uniform: Samagra Shiksha provides support for two sets of uniform to all girls, SC, ST children and Below Poverty Line (BPL) children at  an  average  cost  of  Rs.  600/- per child per annum, wherever State Governments have incorporated the provision of school uniforms as a child entitlement in their State RTE Rules.

Besides, the Department is also implementing schemes such as the Pradhan Mantri Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI), PM POSHAN (Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman),  National  Means  cum-Merit  Scholarship  Scheme,  ULLAS-  the  New  India Literacy Program to provide adequate school infrastructure (including digital), teaching learning material, teacher support,  nutrition, scholarship for EWS so as to improve the learning  outcomes  of  all  students  in  all  States  and  UTs,  with  special  focus  on aspirational districts.

Above schemes and measures have helped to increase the enrolment of students, from all  categories, in schools. Enrolment (Pre-Primary to Higher Secondary) of students from  SC  has  increased  from  4.39  crore  in  2018-19  to  4.97  crore  in  2021-22  and enrolment of ST students has increased from 2.33 crore in 2018-19 to 2.60 crore  in 2021-22. Details of enrolments and Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by Social Categories are attached as Annexure-II .

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ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  89  ANSWERED  ON  29.07.2024  ASKED  BY  DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY AND SHRI MALVINDER SINGH KANG, HON'BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING IDENTIFICATION OF EDUCATIONALLY BACKWARD DISTRICTS.

## List of 112 Aspirational Districts

|   S. No. | State             | District             |
|----------|-------------------|----------------------|
|        1 | Andhra Pradesh    | Alluri Sitharamaraju |
|        2 | Andhra Pradesh    | Parvathipuram Manyam |
|        3 | Andhra Pradesh    | Y.S.R.               |
|        4 | Arunachal Pradesh | Namsai               |
|        5 | Assam             | Goalpara             |
|        6 | Assam             | Barpeta              |
|        7 | Assam             | Hailakandi           |
|        8 | Assam             | Baksa                |
|        9 | Assam             | Darrang              |
|       10 | Assam             | Udalguri             |
|       11 | Assam             | Dhubri               |
|       12 | Bihar             | Sitamarhi            |
|       13 | Bihar             | Araria               |
|       14 | Bihar             | Purnia               |
|       15 | Bihar             | Katihar              |
|       16 | Bihar             | Muzaffarpur          |
|       17 | Bihar             | Begusarai            |
|       18 | Bihar             | Khagaria             |
|       19 | Bihar             | Banka                |
|       20 | Bihar             | Sheikhpura           |
|       21 | Bihar             | Aurangabad           |
|       22 | Bihar             | Gaya                 |
|       23 | Bihar             | Nawada               |
|       24 | Bihar             | Jamui                |
|       25 | Chhattisgarh      | Korba                |
|       26 | Chhattisgarh      | Rajnandgaon          |
|       27 | Chhattisgarh      | Mahasamund           |
|       28 | Chhattisgarh      | Kanker               |
|       29 | Chhattisgarh      | Narayanpur           |
|       30 | Chhattisgarh      | Dantewada            |
|       31 | Chhattisgarh      | Bijapur              |
|       32 | Chhattisgarh      | Bastar               |
|       33 | Chhattisgarh      | Kondagaon            |

|   S. No. | State                | District            |
|----------|----------------------|---------------------|
|       34 | Chhattisgarh         | Sukma               |
|       35 | Gujarat              | Dahod               |
|       36 | Gujarat              | Narmada             |
|       37 | Haryana              | Mewat               |
|       38 | Himachal Pradesh     | Chamba              |
|       39 | UT of Jammu &Kashmir | Kupwara             |
|       40 | UT of Jammu &Kashmir | Baramulla           |
|       41 | Jharkhand            | Garhwa              |
|       42 | Jharkhand            | Chatra              |
|       43 | Jharkhand            | Giridih             |
|       44 | Jharkhand            | Godda               |
|       45 | Jharkhand            | Sahibganj           |
|       46 | Jharkhand            | Pakur               |
|       47 | Jharkhand            | Bokaro              |
|       48 | Jharkhand            | Lohardaga           |
|       49 | Jharkhand            | Purbi Singhbhum     |
|       50 | Jharkhand            | Palamu              |
|       51 | Jharkhand            | Latehar             |
|       52 | Jharkhand            | Hazaribagh          |
|       53 | Jharkhand            | Ramgarh             |
|       54 | Jharkhand            | Dumka               |
|       55 | Jharkhand            | Ranchi              |
|       56 | Jharkhand            | Khunti              |
|       57 | Jharkhand            | Gumla               |
|       58 | Jharkhand            | Simdega             |
|       59 | Jharkhand            | Pashchimi Singhbhum |
|       60 | Karnataka            | Raichur             |
|       61 | Karnataka            | Yadgir              |
|       62 | Kerala               | Wayanad             |
|       63 | Madhya Pradesh       | Chhatarpur          |
|       64 | Madhya Pradesh       | Damoh               |
|       65 | Madhya Pradesh       | Barwani             |
|       66 | Madhya Pradesh       | Rajgarh             |
|       67 | Madhya Pradesh       | Vidisha             |
|       68 | Madhya Pradesh       | Guna                |
|       69 | Madhya Pradesh       | Singrauli           |
|       70 | Madhya Pradesh       | Khandwa             |
|       71 | Maharashtra          | Nandurbar           |
|       72 | Maharashtra          | Washim              |
|       73 | Maharashtra          | Gadchiroli          |
|       74 | Maharashtra          | Osmanabad           |
|       75 | Manipur              | Chandel             |

|   S. No. | State         | District             |
|----------|---------------|----------------------|
|       76 | Meghalaya     | Ribhoi               |
|       77 | Mizoram       | Mamit                |
|       78 | Nagaland      | Kiphire              |
|       79 | Odisha        | Dhenkanal            |
|       80 | Odisha        | Gajapati             |
|       81 | Odisha        | Kandhamal            |
|       82 | Odisha        | Balangir             |
|       83 | Odisha        | Kalahandi            |
|       84 | Odisha        | Rayagada             |
|       85 | Odisha        | Koraput              |
|       86 | Odisha        | Malkangiri           |
|       87 | Odisha        | Nabarangpur          |
|       88 | Odisha        | Nuapada              |
|       89 | Punjab        | Moga                 |
|       90 | Punjab        | Firozpur             |
|       91 | Rajasthan     | Dholpur              |
|       92 | Rajasthan     | Karauli              |
|       93 | Rajasthan     | Jaisalmer            |
|       94 | Rajasthan     | Sirohi               |
|       95 | Rajasthan     | Baran                |
|       96 | Sikkim        | Soreng               |
|       97 | Tamil Nadu    | Virudhunagar         |
|       98 | Tamil Nadu    | Ramanathapuram       |
|       99 | Telangana     | Asifabad             |
|      100 | Telangana     | Bhoopalapally        |
|      101 | Telangana     | Bhadradri-Kothagudem |
|      102 | Tripura       | Dhalai               |
|      103 | Uttar Pradesh | Chitrakoot           |
|      104 | Uttar Pradesh | Fatehpur             |
|      105 | Uttar Pradesh | Bahraich             |
|      106 | Uttar Pradesh | Shrawasti            |
|      107 | Uttar Pradesh | Balrampur            |
|      108 | Uttar Pradesh | Siddharthnagar       |
|      109 | Uttar Pradesh | Chandauli            |
|      110 | Uttar Pradesh | Sonbhadra            |
|      111 | Uttarakhand   | Udham Singh Nagar    |
|      112 | Uttarakhand   | Haridwar             |

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) TO (E) OF LOK SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO.  89  ANSWERED  ON  29.07.2024  ASKED  BY  DR. NISHIKANT DUBEY AND SHRI MALVINDER SINGH KANG, HON'BLE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT REGARDING IDENTIFICATION OF EDUCATIONALLY BACKWARD DISTRICTS.

## Details of Enrolments (Pre-Primary to Higher Secondary) by Social Categories

| Year    | SC          | ST          | OBC          | General     | Total        |
|---------|-------------|-------------|--------------|-------------|--------------|
| 2018-19 | 4,39,45,437 | 2,32,95,960 | 10,52,69,154 | 6,36,12,293 | 23,61,22,844 |
| 2019-20 | 4,93,65,209 | 2,60,36,960 | 11,76,27,338 | 7,14,98,068 | 26,45,27,575 |
| 2020-21 | 4,94,46,658 | 2,58,48,850 | 11,72,60,098 | 7,18,94,381 | 26,44,49,987 |
| 2021-22 | 4,97,49,996 | 2,59,82,509 | 11,80,94,097 | 7,14,09,228 | 26,52,35,830 |

## Details of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) by Social Categories and Level of Education

| Year    | Level of Education   |    SC |    ST |   Overall |
|---------|----------------------|-------|-------|-----------|
| 2018-19 | Elementary           | 105.3 | 101.6 |      96.1 |
| 2018-19 | Higher Secondary     |  51.3 |  42.2 |      50.1 |
| 2019-20 | Elementary           | 107.1 | 102.1 |      97.8 |
| 2019-20 | Higher Secondary     |  52.9 |  42.9 |      51.4 |
| 2020-21 | Elementary           | 108.6 | 102.7 |      99.1 |
| 2020-21 | Higher Secondary     |  56.1 |  45.2 |      53.8 |
| 2021-22 | Elementary           | 109.7 | 103.4 |     100.1 |
| 2021-22 | Higher Secondary     |  61.5 |  52   |      57.6 |

*Source: UDISE+

Note: GER for OBCs is not calculated due to unavailability of the Projected Population for OBCs