MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SMT. SMRITI ZUBIN IRANI)
(a): The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State Governments for universalizing elementary education across the country. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels of children. SSA provides for a variety of interventions, including inter alia, opening of new schools, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for learning achievement. These provisions are made in accordance with norms and standards and free entitlements as mandated by the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which provides a legal framework that entitles all children between the ages of 6 to 14 years free and compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education.
(b): The fund sharing pattern of the SSA scheme is in the ratio of 60:40 between Centre and States and 90:10 for the 8 North-Eastern States viz. Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura, and 3 Himalayan States viz. Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh & Uttrakhand, effective from the year 2015-16.
(c) & (d): Section 7 of the RTE Act provides that the Central and State Governments have concurrent responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of the RTE Act. Allocation of outlays of the States under SSA are made on the basis of the approved Annual Work Plans and Budgets (AWP&B) prepared by the States based on their requirements. Funds are released to States /UTs as per the approved AWP&B for each year in two or more installments, depending on the State/UT’s opening balance, release of commensurate State share, pace of expenditure, submission of audit reports and other such criteria laid down in the scheme. The releases to States and UTs under SSA have gone up from ` 19594.07 crores in 2010-11 to ` 24030.16 crores in 2014-15. Details of State/UT-wise funds released under SSA during the last three years and the current year are at Annexure.
(e): Since the inception of SSA in 2000-01 till 30.09.2015, 3.64 lakh new elementary schools, construction of 3.11 lakh school buildings, and 18.61 lakh additional classrooms, 2.38 lakh drinking water facilities, 10.14 lakh school toilets and 19.48 lakh teacher posts have been sanctioned to States and UTs. Out of this, 3.59 lakh elementary schools have been opened, 2.85 lakh school buildings and 17.14 lakh additional classrooms have been constructed, 2.26 lakh drinking water facilities have been provided, 9.37 lakh school toilets have been constructed and 15.58 lakh teachers have been recruited.
The Government of India has introduced several measures to facilitate the implementation of the SSA namely (i) launching ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’-a foundational programme to improve early reading and writing with comprehension and early mathematics and a focus on strengthening Science and Maths learning at the upper primary level; (ii) launching ‘Rashtriya Avishkaar Abhiyan’ – a convergent framework to make Science, Mathematics and Technology exciting for children; (iii) sharing an exemplar on continuous and comprehensive evaluation in elementary education developed by the NCERT; (iv) sharing learning outcomes by class and stage of education brought out by the NCERT; (v) conducting the 3 rounds of National Achievement Surveys for Class III, V and VIII to track student learning outcomes; (vi) bringing out guidelines against discrimination in schools; and (vii) monitoring of States to set up decentralized grievance redressal systems under the RTE Act.
(f): Bridging the gender and social category gaps in elementary education is one of the goals of the SSA. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) in 2013-14 has reached 1.02 for primary level and 1.06 at upper primary level. The SSA has identified 61 SC, 109 ST, and 88 minority concentrated districts in the country. Percentage of girls’ enrolment has gone up from 48.12% in 2009-10 to 48.66% in 2013-14 at the elementary level. In order to ensure greater participation of girls in elementary education, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has targeted interventions for girls which include opening of schools in the neighbourhood to make access easier for girls, appointment of additional teachers including women teachers, free textbooks, free uniforms, separate toilets for girls, teachers’ sensitisation programmes to promote girls participation, gender-sensitive teaching-learning materials including textbooks. In addition, Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) have been opened in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where the female rural literacy is below the national average to provide for residential upper primary schools for girls. 3598 KGBVs are operational in the country enrolling 3.52 lakh girls. The KGBV component of SSA scheme targets girl’s education for drop out girl children particularly from low literacy habitations, below poverty line and SC/ST/minorities population.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister in his Independence Day speech on 15th August, 2014 emphasized the need for education of girls and made a national call for provision of separate toilets for girls and boys in every school within a year. Under the Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative launched by this Ministry, 4,17,796 toilets were constructed in a period of one year, thus ensuring that every single government school now has a separate toilet for girls and boys.
Percentage of enrolment of SC children, ST children and Muslim children has gone up from 19.06 to 19.72, 10.70 to 10.63 and 12.50 to 13.73, respectively from 2010-11 to 2013-14 at elementary level.
SSA also ensures that every child with special needs (CWSN), irrespective of the kind, category and degree of disability, is provided quality inclusive education. The enrolment of CWSN has gone up to 25.03 lakh as per the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2013-14 as compared to 11.71 lakh in 2003-04.
(g): The census 2011 estimated 20.78 crore children in the 6-13 age group. As per UDISE 2013-14, enrolment in elementary schools was 19.89 crore children in 14.49 lakh elementary schools, including 13.79 lakh government and government aided schools. There has been a significant reduction in the number of out of school children in the 6–14 years age group, from 134.6 lakh in 2005 to 81 lakh in 2009 and further to 61 lakh in 2013. The annual average dropout rate has come down from 6.8% (2009-10) to 4.7% (2012-13) at primary level and the dropout rate at upper primary level is 3.13%. The transition rate from primary to upper primary has gone up from 83.53% in 2009-10 to 89.58% in 2012-13. The Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) has improved from 32 in 2009-10 to 26 in 2013-14.
(h): Under SSA, there is a provision for Computer Aided Learning (CAL) facilities upto ` 50 lakhs per district per year at the upper primary level where electricity and appropriate infrastructure is available. The focus of CAL is to maximise coverage in Upper Primary Schools with special emphasis on Science and Mathematics. Girls enrolled at these schools whether in rural or urban areas also get to use the facility.
****
Download PDF Files
