(a) the rural coverage of schools by the Government in the country during the last three years
along with the goals set;
(b) whether the Government has any plans of setting up schools at every 5 kilometres radius
in the rural areas and if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the time by which it is likely to be implemented?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL ''NISHANK'')
(a) to (c): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education(RTE) Act, 2009,
mandates the appropriate Government to provide free and compulsory elementary education
to every child of the age 6 to 14 years in a neighbourhood school. In pursuance of Section 6
of the Act, the Central RTE Rules has notified the area or limits of neighbourhood as one
kilometre, within which a primary school and 3 kilometre within which an upper primary
school, has to be established. The States have notified area or limits of their neighbourhood
norms in their state RTE Rules, factoring in their State specific condition, for opening of
schools.
Further,centrally sponsored Integrated Scheme for School Education, namely
Samagra Shiksha, aims to provide universal access to secondary school within a distance of 5
Km of a habitation by providing support to States and UTs for establishment of new schools
by up-gradation of upper primary school to secondary schools. As reported by States/UTs in
their respective Annual Work Plan, the habitations covered in Primary, Upper Primary and
Secondary level during the last three years is as under:
<pre>
Year Primary Upper Primary Secondary
2017-18 97.17% 96.71% 87.50%
2018-19 97.15% 96.49% 88.24%
2019-20 97.27% 96.82% 91.49%
</pre>
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