Lok Sabha Question No. 5769 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2026-03-30
Subject: PARAKH
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Shri Eswarasamy K

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-5769

ANSWERED ON - 30/03/2026

## PARAKH

5769. Shri Eswarasamy K:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government is aware of the findings from PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024, which highlight persistent learning gaps among Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Class (OBC) students in various subjects across the States/UTs in the country, if so, the details thereof;

- (b)  whether the  Government has compiled data regarding disparities in learning outcomes, particularly in Language and Mathematics and if so, the details thereof, State/UT-wise and grade-wise;
- (c) whether the Government proposes to adopt targeted remedial learning interventions such as the Teaching at the Right Level (TaRL) model and enhanced teacher training in inclusive pedagogy to bridge these gaps and if so, the details thereof; and

(d)  the  details  of  measures  being  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  timely  disbursal  of scholarships  and  Direct  Benefit  Transfer  (DBT)  benefits,  particularly  in  rural  and  remote areas to prevent dropout risks among SC, ST and OBC students.

## ANSWER

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

(a) & (b) The Ministry of Education, undertakes large-scale assessments to measure learning outcomes  in  schools  across  the  country  from  time  to  time.  In  this  regard,  the  PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 (formerly National Achievement Survey) was conducted by the National Assessment Centre-PARAKH, NCERT under the aegis of the Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education to measure the baseline performance under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 in development of competencies among students at the end of the Foundational, Preparatory and Middle Stages (Grades 3, 6 and 9 respectively) of schooling.

Nationwide  over  21.15  lakh  students,  including  SC,  ST  and  OBC  students,  and  2.70  lakh teachers from more than 74,000 schools across 781 districts from all States/UTs participated in the assessment.

National, State and District level reports for PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 providing insights  on  variation  in  learning  outcomes  across  social  groups  for  all  subjects  assessed  are available at https://dashboard.parakh.ncert.gov.in/en,  a  dedicated  dashboard  designed  to disseminate the findings of the assessment. Through the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 dashboard, the Central Government assists States and UTs in identifying critical learning gaps at various stages and suggests possible interventions to plug such gaps.

Findings from PARAKH  Rashtriya  Sarvekshan  2024  highlight  improvement  vis-à-vis National  Achievement  Survey  (NAS)  2021  in  learning  achievements  of  students  across  all social  categories  at  the  foundational  stage  which  indicates  early  success  of  NIPUN  Bharat Mission  across  the  country.  The  percentage  correct  scores  in  Grade  3,  which  is  the  only common Grade assessed across the PARAKH Rashtriya Sarvekshan 2024 and NAS 2021, is depicted in the table given below:

| Social Category   | 2021     | 2024     | 2021        | 2024        |
|-------------------|----------|----------|-------------|-------------|
|                   | Language | Language | Mathematics | Mathematics |
| SC                | 62       | 64       | 57          | 60          |
| ST                | 61       | 61       | 55          | 57          |
| OBC               | 62       | 63       | 57          | 60          |
| Others            | 64       | 66       | 59          | 61          |

(c) & (d) Education is in the Concurrent List of the Constitution with the majority of schools falling under the jurisdiction of respective State and UT  Governments.  The  Central Government assists States  and  UTs  through  Centrally  Sponsored  Schemes  such  as  Samagra Shiksha, wherein financial assistance is provided with a focus on delivering quality education and improving learning outcomes. The Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B) proposals under Samagra Shiksha are prepared by the States and UTs based on their requirements and priorities after factoring in local needs and gap assessments and may include targeted remedial learning interventions. These plans are then appraised and approved by the Project Approval Board (PAB) in consultation with the States and UTs as per the programmatic and financial norms of the scheme.

Interventions under Samagra Shiksha focussing on quality of education and improving learning outcomes inter-alia include remedial teaching and Learning Enrichment Programmes (LEP) for academically  weaker  students,  support  for  Foundational  Literacy  and  Numeracy  (FLN) initiatives  under  NIPUN  Bharat  Mission,  and  composite  school  grant  to  every  school  for providing a conducive learning environment. Further, Samagra Shiksha, in alignment with the National  Education  Policy  2020,  supports  strengthening  of  teacher  training  and  education programmes. The content and methodologies used in these teacher training programmes focus on learner-centric pedagogy, experiential learning, competency-based assessment and inclusive education  practices.  These  programmes  are  developed  by  NCERT  and  other  academic institutions and are contextualised by States/UTs as per their requirements and are implemented in all States/UTs through SCERTs and DIETs as nodal agencies. Additionally, to ensure access to quality  training for teachers in rural and remote areas, training is delivered through both online and face-to-face modes, supported by decentralised academic institutions such as SCERTs, DIETs, BRCs and CRCs, along with digital platforms, such as DIKSHA and NISHTHA, to enable wider outreach.

The Ministry of Education is  implementing the Central Sector scheme  of 'National Meanscum-Merit Scholarship Scheme' to award scholarships to meritorious students of economically  weaker  sections  to  arrest  their  dropout  at  class  VIII  and  encourage  them  to continue their study at secondary stage up to Class XII. Under the NMMS Scheme, funds are not released to States/UTs and the scholarship amount is directly credited to the students' bank accounts  through  DBT leveraging  the  National  Scholarship  Portal  (NSP)  which  serves  as  a one stop solution to enable seamless disbursal of scholarships.

Besides  the  above,  the  Physical  and  Financial  progress  of  DBT  enabled  components  under Samagra Shiksha is monitored regularly through the PRABANDH portal and the DBT Bharat Portal http://dbtbharat.gov.in. The progress and bottlenecks thereof are periodically reviewed by  the  Ministry  in  consultation  with  States/UTs  and  DBT  Mission,  Cabinet  Secretariat  to facilitate timely disbursal of benefits under the scheme.

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