Lok Sabha Question No. 1358 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-08
Subject: Objectives of  Samagra Shiksha Scheme
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Malaiyarasan D, Dr. Kalanidhi Veeraswamy

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-1358

ANSWERED ON -08/12/2025

## OBJECTIVES OF SAMAGRA SHIKSHA SCHEME

1358. Dr. Kalanidhi Veeraswamy:

Shri Malaiyarasan D:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a)  the features and objectives of the Samagra Shiksha Scheme;
- (b)  the  total  funds  sanctioned,  allocated  and  released  under  this  Scheme,  especially  for TamilNadu  during  the  last  three  financial  years  especially  in  Kallakurichi  Lok  Sabha Constituency;
- (c)  whether a major portion of the sanctioned funds is still withheld by the Government;
- (d)  if so, the details of such withheld funds and the reasons therefor;
- (e)  the total amount of funds pending for release and the expected timeline for disbursal; and
- (f)  the steps taken by the Government to ensure timely release of funds to Tamil Nadu and to address any implementation bottlenecks?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

## (SHRI JAYANT CHAUDHARY)

- (a): The  Department  of  School  Education  and  Literacy  is  implementing  an  Integrated Centrally  Sponsored  Scheme  for  School  Education  -  Samagra  Shiksha  since  2018-19.  The scheme has been aligned with the recommendations of the National Education Policy, 2020 with the aim to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment. The scheme has been extended for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

The  major  objectives  of  Samagra  Shiksha  Scheme  are: (i)  Support  States  and  UTs  in implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020); (ii) Support  States  in  implementation  of  Right  of  Children  to  Free  and  Compulsory  Education (RTE)  Act,  2009;  (iii)  Focus  on  Early  Childhood  Care  and   Education;  (iv)  Emphasis  on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy; (v) Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st century skills among the students; (vi) Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students; (vii) Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education; (viii) Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education; (ix) Strengthening and up-gradation of State Councils for Educational Research and Training  (SCERTs)/State  Institutes  of  Education  and  District  Institutes  for  Education  and

Training (DIET) as nodal agency for teacher training; (x) Ensuring safe, secure and conducive learning environment and maintenance of standards in schooling provisions and (xi) Promoting skill  education.

The major features of Samagra Shiksha Scheme for improving the access, infrastructure and quality of education throughout the country are:

-  Universalising access to quality education by provision for new/ upgradation of schools from pre-primary to  senior  secondary  level  and  strengthening  of  existing  schools including provision of barrier free access for Divyang children.
-  Support for mainstreaming of out of school children extended from elementary level to children in the age group of 16-19 years through open schooling.
-  Provision of upgradation of Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) to provide residential and schooling facilities upto Class-XII.
-  Provision of free textbooks to all children and free uniforms to all girls, SC, ST and BPL boys at elementary level including primers/textbooks for tribal languages with bridging materials.
-  Transport facility extended to secondary level @ upto ₹ 6000 per annum, for children in difficult sparsely populated areas.
-  Residential schools/hostels named Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Avasiya Vidyalayas in hilly terrain, small and sparsely populated areas for children without adult protection who are in need of shelter and care.
-  Provision of upto₹ 500 per child per annum for Teaching Learning Materials, indigenous toys and games, play based activities for pre-primary sections in Government Schools.
-  Support  for  NIPUN  Bharat  Mission  on  Foundational  Literacy  and  Numeracy through provision of TLM upto ₹ 500 per child per annum, ₹150 per teacher for teacher manuals and resources, ₹ 10-20 lakh per district for assessment, Teacher training on FLN.
-  Provision for qualitative and innovative interventions such as Holistic Progress Card (HPC), sports grant, library grant, composite school grant, teacher training, strengthening of  TEIs,  assessment  cell, Bagless  days,  school  complexes,  internships  with  local artisans, curriculum and pedagogical reforms etc.
-  Self-Defence training for girls under 'Rani Laxmibai Atma Raksha Prashikshan' .
-  Provision of upto ₹ 3500 per child with special needs, per year, studying in government, government aided and local body schools for aids and appliances, teaching material, home based education etc.
-  Separate provision of stipend for CWSN girls @ ₹ 200 per month for 10 months, in addition to student component from pre-primary to senior secondary level.
-  Annual  identification  camps for  CWSN  at  block  level  @₹  10000  per  camp  and equipping of Block Resource centres for rehabilitation and special training of CWSN, and training of special educators & Block Resource Persons.
-  Academic support of BRCs and CRCs extended for pre-primary and secondary level.
-  Enhanced emphasis on convergence with Skills and other Government departments/agencies  undertaking  development  works  for  providing  exposure  and internships to children on different vocations.
-  Support under Skill Education extended to Government aided schools also in addition to Government  Schools  and  grant/number  of  job  roles/sections  linked  to  enrolment  and demand.
-  Provision of ICT labs, Smart classrooms including support for digital boards , virtual classrooms and DTH channels.
-  Child tracking for tracking the learning level of children for students of Government and Government aided schools.
-  Support  States  &  UTs  for  implementation  of  provisions  of  RTE  Act  including reimbursement under Section 12(1) (c) of the Act.

(b): The details of total Central Share approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) and total Central Share released to States/UTs and for Tamil Nadu under Samagra Shiksha during the last three financial years is given below:

(Rs.in Crore)

|                        | 2022-23                | 2022-23                | 2023-24                | 2023-24                | 2024-25                | 2024-25                |
|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|------------------------|
|                        | Central share approved | Central share Released | Central share approved | Central share Released | Central share approved | Central share Released |
| Country-all States/UTs | 44493.94               | 32151.94               | 45647.55               | 32382.79               | 47475.67               | 34458.21               |
| Tamil Nadu             | 2117.60                | 2107.23                | 2127.65                | 1876.16                | 2153.15                | 0.00*                  |

Source: PAB minutes and PFMS

*The Central Share of Rs. 362.81 Crore of FY 2024-25 of Tamil Nadu was released in FY 2025-26

(c) to (f): The Department of School Education & Literacy is implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Samagra Shiksha in partnership with all the States and UTs. Financial assistance is provided to all States and UTs for various components for implementation of the interventions  under  Samagra  Shiksha  as  per  norms.  Accordingly,  the  annual  plans  under Samagra Shiksha are prepared by the States and UTs based on their requirements and priority and this is reflected in their respective Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B). These plans are then appraised and approved/estimated by Project Approval Board (PAB) in consultation with the States and UTs as per the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme. The release of Central share depends on the submission of the utilisation certificates, audit reports in respect of  funds  released  earlier,  physical  and  financial  progress  reports,  State  contributions  and compliance with the scheme norms.

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