(a) whether the Government is aware that there is shortage of schools and colleges in rural areas of
the country;
(b) if so, the number of schools and colleges established in rural areas during the last three years;
and
(c) the steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to address the problem in the country?
MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
(SHRI RAMESH POKHRIYAL ''NISHANK'')
(a) to (c): The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 provides
for access to elementary schools for children within the defined area or limits of neighbourhood.
Section 6 of the Act provides that ‘the appropriate government and local authorities’ shall
establish, within the area or limits of a neighbourhood, a school, where it is not already
established, within a period of three years from the commencement of the Act. In pursuance to
Section 6 of the Act, the Central Government has notified the area or limits of neighbourhood as
one kilometre or three kilometre, within which a primary or upper primary school has to be
established by the appropriate Government or the local authority. Accordingly, the States have
also notified area or limits of their neighbourhood norms, factoring in their State specific
condition, for opening of schools. As reported by States and UTs in their Annual Work Plan,
2018-19, 97.15% of habitations in the country are covered by primary schools and 96.49% of
habitations in the country are covered by upper primary schools. The habitations that remain
uncovered are mostly small or sparsely populated in difficult areas where opening of school is
not feasible for which there is a provision of giving transport and escort facility and opening of
residential schools and hostels. Further, 88.24% of habitations were covered by Secondary
schools within a distance of 5km.
The number of schools in rural areas during the period 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18(U-DISE
provisional) are 1289544, 1297083 and 1311998 respectively. As per information provided by
University Grants Commission, the number of colleges/ recognized institutions in rural areas
during the period 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19 are 20981, 20953 and 22311 respectively.
Under the Centrally Sponsored scheme of Samagra Shiksha which has been launched from 2018-
19, subsuming the erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA),
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE), there is a
provision for support for upgradation of schools from primary to upper primary, upper primary
to secondary and secondary schools to senior secondary level and addition of new streams in
existing senior secondary schools, based on appraisals of proposals received from the States and
UTs. Accordingly, 27 number of primary schools, 383 number of upper primary schools, 1903
Secondary schools, 44 Senior Secondary schools and addition of new stream in 851 existing
senior secondary schools have been approved in the last three years.
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