Lok Sabha Question No. 3478 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-12-21
Subject: New Education System
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: (ADV.) JOICE GEORGE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3478 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.12.2015

## New Education System

## 3478. ADV. JOICE GEORGE:

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

(a) whether the Government is planning to develop a new education system/pattern for tribal people of the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof; and

(c) the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT

## (SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)

(a)  to  (c):  The  Government  has  undertaken  a  collaborative,  multi-stakeholder  and  multipronged consultation process for formulating the New Education Policy (NEP), which included online, grassroots and national level thematic deliberations on the 33 identified themes. Out of these  33  themes,  there  are  two  themes  each  under  School  Education  and  Higher  Education which  relate  to  education  of  tribal  children.  One  of  the  themes  under  School  Education  is 'Accelerating rural literacy with special emphasis on Women, SCs, STs & Minorities through Adult  Education  and  National  Open  Schooling  Systems'  which  emphasizes  the  need  to enhance the literacy levels of the socially marginalized groups and those living in rural areas through  interventions  of  adult  education  programmes  and  open  schooling  systems.  Another theme under School Education is 'Enabling Inclusive Education - education of Girls, SCs, STs, Minorities and children with special needs' which highlights the need for examining current interventions  in  bridging  the  gender  and  social  gaps  and  identifying  focused  strategies  for effective  inclusion.  Further,  two  themes  under  Higher  Education  viz.  'Addressing  regional disparity' and 'Bridging gender and social gaps' focuses on increasing the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) across social groups and reducing existing regional disparities.

The Govt. of India has constituted a Committee for Evolution of the New Education Policy and the suggestions received on the above themes have been forwarded to the Committee. The Committee will examine the outcome documents, recommendations and suggestions received and formulate a Draft National Education Policy as well as a Framework for Action (FFA).

Moreover, at present, there are several schemes at elementary and secondary school levels, which  have  significant  bearing  on  educational  development  of  Scheduled  Tribes. In  Higher Education  also,  University  Grants  Commission  (UGC)  implements  various  schemes  for educational empowerment of Scheduled Tribes such as, Remedial Coaching at UG/PG level for SC/ST students, Coaching Classes for SC/ST candidates for preparation for National Eligibility Test (NET), Post-Graduate Scholarships for Students belonging to SCs/STs/Minorities, PostDoctoral Fellowships for SC/ST etc. AICTE also implements Quality Improvement programmes with focus on provision of hostels and skill development for tribal students. Apart from Ministry of  Human  Resource Development, Ministry of Tribal Affairs is also implementing several schemes for the educational development of Scheduled Tribes Students.

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