Lok Sabha Question No. 2469 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-05-09
Subject: Academic Performance of Students
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: JYOTIRADITYA MADHAVRAO SCINDIA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2469 TO BE ANSWERED ON 9.5.2016

## Academic Performance of Students

## 2469. SHRI JYOTIRADITYA M. SCINDIA:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether the Government is considering to issue orders under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2010 to ensure that the students meet the Minimum Standards of Academic Performance (MSAP), prescribed by a school in all subjects from class V to VIII before being promoted to class IX;
- (b) if so, whether the Government has sought views of the Ministry of Law and Justice and eminent educationists in this regard;
- (c)  if so, the details thereof including the response of the said Ministry and eminent educationists thereto; and
- (d) the other steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to check the decline in the quality of education, particularly at the elementary level?

## ANSWER MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

- (a)  to  (c):  The  Right  of  Children  to  Free  and  Compulsory  Education  (RTE)  Act, 2009 has been enacted for universalising elementary education in the country for children  between  ages  of  6-14  years.  Section  29(2)(h)  of  the  RTE  Act,  2009, stipulate a Comprehensive and Continuous Evaluation(CCE) of child's understanding of knowledge and his or her ability to apply the same.

Additionally,  under  Section  29  (1)  of  the  RTE  Act,  2009,  the  Central Government  has  notified  the  National  Council  of  Educational  Research  and Training (NCERT) as the academic authority for development of the curriculum and evaluation  procedure.  The  NCERT  has  developed  detailed  guidelines  on  CCE which  has  been  circulated  to  all  States/UTs.  In  consultation  with  NCERT  and Ministry  of  Law  &  Justice,  this  Ministry  is  examining  ways  to  develop  a  suitable academic  approach  on  the  maintenance  of  Minimum  Standards  of  Academic Performance for classes 5-8.

(d): Quality  education  and  improvement  in  learning  levels  is  one  of  the  key objectives of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which is a centrally sponsored scheme. Under SSA, the Government advises the State Governments to ensure the pupilteacher  ratio,  as  stipulated  in  the  Right  of  Children  to  Free  and  Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

Further,    the  State  Governments  and  UT  Administrations  are  supported  on several interventions under SSA to improve teaching standards, including regular in-service teachers' training, induction training for newly recruited teachers, training of  all  untrained  teachers  to  acquire  professional  qualifications  through  Open Distance  Learning  (ODL)  mode,  recruitment  of  additional  teachers  for  improving pupil-teacher  ratios,  academic  support  for  teachers  through  block  and  cluster resource  centres,  continuous  and  comprehensive  evaluation  system  to  equip  the teacher  to  measure  pupil  performance  and  provide  remedial  action  wherever required, and teacher and school grants for development of appropriate teachinglearning materials, etc.  The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 specifies statutory duties and responsibilities of teachers and lays down the minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in elementary schools. Further, Central Government has been taking up the issue  of  redeployment  of  teachers  with  States/UTs  in  various  forums  and  review meetings.

The NCERT conducts periodic national surveys of learning achievement of children  in  classes  -  III,  V,  VIII,  and  X.  These  reveal  improvement  in  learning achievement levels of pupils, in various subjects.

Through SSA, the Central Government supports States/UTs on early grade reading, writing & comprehension, and early Mathematics programmes through a sub-programme namely 'Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat' (PBBB) in classes I and II. Further the Government has launched Rashtriya Aavishkar Abhiyan (RAA), interalia,  as  a  sub-component  of  Sarva  Shiksha  Abhiyan  and  Rashtriya  Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), to motivate and engage children of the age group from 6-18 years in Science, Mathematics and Technology through observation, experimentation,  inference  drawing,  model  building,  etc.  both  through  inside  and outside classroom activities.

The  Central  Government  has  launched  the  'Pandit  Madan  Mohan  Malviya National  Mission  on  Teachers  and  Teaching'  in  December,  2014  with  a  vision  to comprehensively address all issues related to teachers, teaching, teacher preparation,  professional  development,  curriculum  design,  research  in  pedagogy and developing effective pedagogy. In the recent Meeting of Education Ministers on Teachers' Education held at quality of education were discussed. These  include internship for

Vigyan  Bhawan,  New  Delhi  on  8.2.2016  several  steps  for  improvement  of  the Teacher Education Programmes in Government Schools; development of an accreditation framework  for  Teacher  Education  Institutions  and  volunteerism  involving  retired teachers.

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