(a) whether the NITI Aayog’s School Education Quality Index has found that a large percentage of schools across States failed to meet Right to Education (RTE) norms for pupil-teacher ratio, with only 50 per cent of the Upper Primary Schools passing the muster; and
(b) if so, the details thereof and the reaction of the Government thereto?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS & PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
(RAO INDERJIT SINGH)
(a) and (b): The School Education Quality Index (SEQI) released by the NITI Aayog provides data regarding the ‘Percentage of Elementary Schools meeting teacher norms''. In 2016-17, 26 States and Union Territories met the prescribed Right to Education (RTE) Teacher norms in at least 70% of their Elementary Schools.
The RTE Act, 2009 in its Schedule lays down the Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) for upper primary schools. At the upper primary level it is 35:1. As per the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) 2016-17, the PTR at national level for upper primary schools is 24:1, which is better than the prescribed norms.
The Government has launched a number of initiatives to improve children’s education including Samagra Shiksha Abhiyhan (SSA), Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madrasas (SPQEM), Infrastructure Development in Minority Institution (IDMI), National Scheme of Incentive to Girls for Secondary Education (NSIGSE), National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship Scheme (NMMSS). To improve quality of teaching, the Central Government initiatives include development of a dedicated National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers (DIKSHA) and launching of an integrated teacher training programme titled NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement). As per UDISE 2016-17, the number of teachers has also improved from 85.6 lakhs in 2014-15 to more than 89 lakhs in 2016-17.
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