Question : EXTENSION OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLING

(a) whether the Government has decided to include Class V in primary schools and stretch elementary schooling till Class VIII;

(b) if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor including its impact on overall infrastructure of the school;

(c) whether the Government proposes to provide assistance to each State to meet the requirement of infrastructure for the purpose and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether faulty curriculum structure affects the quality of learning and leads to a high failure rate adding to the number of dropouts; and

(e) if so, the details thereof and the corrective measures taken by the Government in this regard?

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

(a) to (c): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 provides that all children of the age from 6 to 14 year shall be enrolled in neighbour- hood schools till the completion of elementary education. All States/UTS have requested to follow eight year elementary cycle i.e. 5 years for primary level & 3 year for upper primary level. States/UTs have been financially supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) to sanction additional classrooms.

(d) & (e): Section 29 (1) of the RTE Act provides that the curriculum and evaluation procedure shall be laid down by an academic authority to be specified by the appropriate Government, which while laying down the same, shall take into consideration, inter alia conformity with the values enshrined in the constitution; all round development of the child; building up child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent; development of physical and mental abilities to the fullest extent and learning through activities, discovery and exploration in a child friendly and child-centred manner. The RTE Act provides for continuous and comprehensive evaluation of children, so as to help all children learn.