Lok Sabha Question No. 1793 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-03-10
Subject: Challenges  faced by Educational Hubs
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Arun Govil

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO1793

ANSWERED ON- 10.03.2025

## CHALLENGES FACED BY EDUCATIONAL HUBS

## †1793. Shri Arun Govil:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether major educational hubs like Meerut and Hapur are facing a number of challenges in the educational system;

(b)  whether  the  students  and  their  parents  are  constantly  concerned  about  Government assistance, lack of teachers, infrastructure of schools and examination system there;

(c)  the  concrete  steps  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  provide  infrastructure  such  as computer labs, science labs, libraries and to ensure availability of teachers and toilets for the convenience of girl students in major educational hubs in the country like Meerut and Hapur; and

(d) the strategies of the Government to make the examination system more transparent and credible in order to ensure quality education to students and to make their educational future secure?

## ANSWER

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

(a) to (d): The Department of School Education and Literacy is implementing an integrated centrally  sponsored  scheme  for  School  education-  Samagra  Shiksha  which  treats  school education  holistically,  without  segmentation  from  pre-primary  to  class  XII  and  is  in accordance  with  Sustainable  Development  Goal  for  Education  (SDG-4).  The  scheme provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act.

The Scheme has been aligned with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and 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.

Under  Samagra  Shiksha,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  States  and  UTs  for providing various facilities to the children which include free uniform to eligible children at elementary level, teaching learning materials, transport/escort facility up to secondary level, special training for age appropriate admission of out of school children and residential as well as  non-residential  training  for  older  children,  seasonal  hostels  /  residential  camps,  special training centres,  age-appropriate residential and non-residential training, support to Out of School Children (16 to 19 years) for completion of education through NIOS/SIOS, Holistic Progress Card, bilingual teaching material and books, support to Children with Special Needs (CWSN).

Also,  under  the  scheme,  financial  assistance  is  provided  to  the  States  and  UTs  for Universalization of School Education including opening/strengthening of new schools upto senior secondary level, construction of school buildings & additional classrooms, development/strengthening  of  school  infrastructure  in  northern  border  areas  under  Vibrant Village  Programme,  setting  up,  up-gradation  and  running  of  Kasturba  Gandhi  Balika Vidyalayas,  construction  of  hostels  for  PVTGs  under  PM-JANMAN,  setting  up  of  Netaji Subhash  Chandra  Bose  Avasiya  Vidyalayas,  construction  of  hostels  under  Dharti  Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan for unsaturated ST population,  reimbursement under RTE Act, various qualitative components, strengthening of teacher education and strengthening of DIETs/BRCs/CRCs, provision of ICT and digital interventions.

Under Samagra Shiksha, annual plans are prepared by the respective States and UTs based on their requirements and priority and this 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.

Education is a subject in the Concurrent List of the Constitution and majority of the schools  in  the  country  come  under  the  administrative  domain  of  the  respective  States/UT governments.

As per the information received from the State Government of Uttar Pradesh,  State government  from  its  own  resources  has  launched  Project  Alankar  for  strengthening  of infrastructure  in  Govt.  Secondary  Schools  including  those  in  Meerut  and  Hapur.  Drinking water  facilities,  Separate  Toilets  for  Girls,  Additional  Classrooms,  Physics,  Chemistry  and Bio Labs, Libraries etc. are being constructed on the basis of the requirement. Under Samagra Shiksha, Computer Lab and other infrastructure are being strengthened.

Examination system of Uttar Pradesh Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad has been made transparent and credible. Online monitoring of examination centres through control command centres has ensured cheating free examination since last 7 years.

In addition, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has been progressively introducing competency-focused questions in Classes 10 and 12 Board Examinations since 2020 to test students' understanding, conceptual clarity and analytical ability, rather than their ability to memorize and reproduce information.

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