Lok Sabha Question No. 1459 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2015-07-29
Subject: Special Focus Districts under SSA
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: ADVOCATE NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR, RITI PATHAK

**GOVERNMENT OF INDIA**

**MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT**

**DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY**

**LOK SABHA**

**UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1459**

**TO BE ANSWERED ON 29** **TH** **JULY, 2015**

**Special Focus Districts under SSA**

1459. ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR:

SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK:

Will the Minister of HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT मानव संसाधन विकास मंत्री be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has identified 314 Special Focus Districts (SFDs) for effective implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA);

(b) if so, the criteria followed for identifying such districts;

(c) the districts identified so, State/UT-wise; and

(d) the results achieved through this intervention so far?

**ANSWER**

**MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT**

**(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)**

(a) to (c): Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the districts with high concentration of population of Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Muslims have been identified as Special Focus Districts (SFDs). The criteria for identifying the SFDs in case of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is a population of 25% and above, while for Muslims, it is 20% and above population. SFDs also include 121 districts identified by Ministry of Minority Affairs to monitor implementation of SSA as part of Prime Minister’s 15 Point Programme and 88 districts identified by Ministry of Home Affairs as districts affected with Left Wing Extremism (LWE). In all, 322 districts are considered SFDs characterized by marginalization and backwardness. State/UT-wise details of SFDs are at Annexure.

(d): Through the interventions made for SFDs, literacy rate of SC and ST communities at the national level has increased by 12 percentage points from 2001 Census to 2011 Census, while the overall literacy rate at the national level has improved by 9.21 percentage points. At the national level, the enrollment share of SC children at elementary level is 19.72%, whereas their share in population is 16.6%. Similarly, the enrollment share of ST children at elementary level is 10.63%, whereas their share in population is 8.6% (as per census 2011). Participation of students at school has an impact on their learning outcomes.

Under SSA, since its inception upto 31.03.2015, 88677 primary schools and 61138 upper primary schools have been opened in SFDs. 807470 additional classrooms have been constructed. Besides, a total of 330 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs), which are upper primary residential schools for girls, have been sanctioned in the SC Special Focus Districts, out of which 326 are operational. Similarly, 508 KGBVs have been sanctioned in ST SFDs, out of which 507 are operational. In ST SFDs, 108 residential schools and 188 hostels have been sanctioned, out of which 106 and 185 are operational respectively. In LWE SFDs, 66 residential schools and 93 hostels have been sanctioned and all are operational.

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**Annexure**

**Annexure REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PART (a) TO (c) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1459 FOR 29** **th** **JuLY, 2015 ASKED by ADV. NARENDRA KESHAV SAWAIKAR AND SHRIMATI RITI PATHAK REGARDING ‘SPECIAL FOCUS DISTRICTS UNDER SSA’**

| **S. No.**   | **State/UT**              | **No. of Districts identified as SFD**   |
|--------------|---------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|              | Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 2                                        |
|              | Andhra Pradesh            | 4                                        |
|              | Arunachal Pradesh         | 11                                       |
|              | Assam                     | 15                                       |
|              | Bihar                     | 17                                       |
|              | Chandigarh                | 0                                        |
|              | Chhattisgarh              | 16                                       |
|              | Dadra & Nagar Haveli      | 1                                        |
|              | Daman & Diu               | 0                                        |
|              | Delhi                     | 2                                        |
|              | Goa                       | 1                                        |
|              | Gujarat                   | 8                                        |
|              | Haryana                   | 4                                        |
|              | Himachal Pradesh          | 8                                        |
|              | Jammu & Kashmir           | 12                                       |
|              | Jharkhand                 | 21                                       |
|              | Karnataka                 | 4                                        |
|              | Kerala                    | 14                                       |
|              | Lakshadweep               | 1                                        |
|              | Madhya Pradesh            | 21                                       |
|              | Maharashtra               | 15                                       |
|              | Manipur                   | 6                                        |
|              | Meghalaya                 | 7                                        |
|              | Mizoram                   | 8                                        |
|              | Nagaland                  | 11                                       |
|              | Odisha                    | 18                                       |
|              | Puducherry                | 1                                        |
|              | Punjab                    | 12                                       |
|              | Rajasthan                 | 7                                        |
|              | Sikkim                    | 4                                        |
|              | Tamil Nadu                | 8                                        |
|              | Telangana                 | 5                                        |
|              | Tripura                   | 1                                        |
|              | Uttarakhand               | 3                                        |
|              | Uttar Pradesh             | 38                                       |
|              | West Bengal               | 16                                       |
|              | **Total**                 | **322**                                  |