Lok Sabha Question No. 97 (STARRED), answered on 2025-02-10
Subject: Education in Schools of  Rural Areas in Jharkhand  and Chhattisgarh
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Dulu Mahato, Shri Brijmohan Agrawal

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 97

## ANSWERED ON 10 th  FEBRUARY, 2025

## Education in Schools of Rural Areas in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh

## †*97. SHRI DULU MAHATO: SHRI BRIJMOHAN AGRAWAL:

- Will the Minister of Education be pleased to state: (a) the major problems being faced by the children in rural areas of Jharkhand in getting quality education; (b) the steps being taken by the Government to improve teachers' training in the Government schools; (c)  the  impact  of  socio-economic factors on the education of children in Dhanbad district in Jharkhand and Raipur district in Chhattisgarh; (d) the measures being taken by the Government to promote digital education in the rural areas of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh; and (e) whether there is any difference in the level of education between Government and private
- schools in Jharkhand and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF EDUCATION (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a) to (e):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 97 ANSWERED ON 10 th  FEBRUARY, 2025 ASKED BY HON'BLE MPs SHRI DULU MAHATO AND SHRI BRIJMOHAN AGRAWAL

(a): The Government  of India provides technical and financial assistance to State Governments/UTs including rural areas of Jharkhand under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education. Various provisions under the scheme help to address problems like migration, access faced by children in rural areas of Jharkhand.

As per UDISE+ 2023-24, the total number of schools in Jharkhand is 44,475 out of which the total number of schools in rural areas is 40,452 (90.9%). The number of children studying in the rural areas is 57,83,641 out of which the total number of girls is 28,36,228 which is 49.03%. The total  number of  teachers  serving  in  rural  areas  is  1,63,228  out  of  which  the  number  of teachers in government schools is 1,08,059 which is 66.2%.

(b): Financial  assistance  is  provided  to  states  for  in-service  teacher  and  teacher  educators training under the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha as per scheme norms. These trainings are conducted by the concerned States and UTs through State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs).

Funds  are  also  provided  under  Samagra  Shiksha  for  strengthening  of  DIETs  and developing them as Centres of Excellence. Based on proposals submitted by States/UTs for FY 2023-24,  the  Government  has  sanctioned  a  financial  assistance  of  Rs.  92,320.18  lakhs  for upgradation of 125 DIETs in 33 States/UTs.

Further, the Department of School Education and Literacy launched a National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA - National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancement under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha. NISHTHA has now been extended to cover all levels of teachers: primary teachers for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy,  secondary  stage  teachers  and  Early  Childhood  Care  and  Education  (ECCE)  for training of master trainers.

As informed by the State Government of Jharkhand, a Training Need Analysis (TNA) was conducted in 2022 for 96,700 elementary school teachers and in 2023 for 13,000 secondary and senior secondary school teachers to assess the specific training requirements of teachers and identify key areas for improvement across various domains. The State Government of Jharkhand has developed the J-Guruji App, which maps content with the curriculum.

The  State  Government  of  Chhattisgarh  has  conducted  a  Need  Analysis  to  assess  the specific requirements of teachers. Based on this, content is developed, and a training manual is created by subject experts. Continuous offline monitoring by the District In-charge is also carried out to ensure the effectiveness of the training program.

(c) The major economic activity in Dhanbad district in Jharkhand is coal mining, while that in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh is primarily agriculture. In order to address the socio-economic factors in school education in the districts of Dhanbad and Raipur, the Government has taken several measures to improve accessibility and quality. As per UDISE+ 2023-24, the number of schools in Dhanbad district of Jharkhand is 2,450 schools. Apart from this, 6 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas, 3 Jharkhand Balika Residential Vidyalayas and 1 Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalaya are being run in Dhanbad district. The number of children studying in these schools is 4,64,810, out of which the number of girls is 2,21,375 (47.6%). The total number of teachers in these schools is 15,178. The dropout rate for primary is 0, for upper primary is 8.2 and that for secondary is 20.1. The dropout rate for girls is 0, 7.8 and 21.1 respectively.

Raipur  district  of  Chhattisgarh  is  served  by  2,415  schools.  The  number  of  children studying in these schools is 5,39,907, out of which the number of girls is 2,68,008 (49.63%). The total number of teachers in these schools is 23,756. The dropout rate for primary is 0, for upper primary  is  2.1  and  that  for  secondary  is  14.5.  The  dropout  rate  for  girls  is  0,  0.9  and  10.2 respectively.

(d) The Government has taken several measures to promote digital education in the rural areas of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh.

- (i) A comprehensive initiative called PM eVidya to enable multi-modal access to education. The key initiatives under PM eVidya are: -
- DIKSHA Portal, for providing quality e-content
- 200  PM  eVidya  DTH  TV  Channels  to  reach  the  rural  and  remote  areas  with  no connectivity  or  limited  connectivity.  Five  channels  each  have  been  allocated  to Jharkhand  and  Chhattisgarh  to  enable  provision  of  content  developed  in  local languages.
- Extensive use of Radio, Community Radio and CBSE Podcast- Shiksha Vani.
- Special  e-content  (talking  books)  for  visually  and  hearing  impaired  developed  on

Digitally Accessible Information System (DAISY) and in Indian Sign Language (ISL).

- YouTube and DTH channels of NCERT/NIOS.
- (ii) Under the centrally sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha, financial assistance is provided to States/UTs including for rural areas for setting up of ICT labs and smart classrooms in the schools.
- (iii) The physical and financial details of ICT Labs and smart classrooms approved in the State of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh till date are as under: -

| State        | No. of ICT Labs (Since 2005-06)   | Amount (Rs. in lakh)   | No. of Smart Classrooms (Since 2020-21)*   | Amount (Rs. in lakh)   |
|--------------|-----------------------------------|------------------------|--------------------------------------------|------------------------|
| Chhattisgarh | 3,777                             | 13,559.8               | 10,439                                     | 24,921.6               |
| Jharkhand    | 5,322                             | 31,106.3               | 1,319                                      | 3,184.22               |

Source: PRABANDH

* Smart Classroon was added as a component since FY 2020-21

- (e) As per UDISE+ 2023-24, 71.8% children are studying in government/government aided schools in Jharkhand while 28.2% children study in private/other management schools. In order to provide quality education to ensure holistic development of children, as per NEP 2020, several initiatives in Jharkhand have been taken by the Government such as PM SHRI Schools, CM Schools of Excellence and Adarsh Vidyalaya.

Learning  Outcomes  as  per  National  Achievement  Survey,  2021  are  available  at https://nas.gov.in/report-card/nas-2021 .

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