Question : HEADSTART CENTRES IN SCHOOLS

(a) whether headstart centres have been set up in schools of other rural zones under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the country including Madhya Pradesh;

(b) if so, whether proper arrangements of computer, power and other equipments have been made in all headstart centres and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether it is a fact that computer teachers have not been appointed to run headstart centres due to which headstart centres are not functioning;

(d) if so, whether the Government is considering to recruit computer teachers;and

(e) if so, the details thereof and the steps taken in this regard?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (DR. SHASHI THAROOR)

(a) Computer Aided Learning (CAL) is provided in upper primary schools under the innovation component of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme, upto a ceiling of Rs.50 lakh per district per year, to provide quality education with special emphasis on Mathematics and Science learning.

(b) The States/UTs are expected to make proper arrangements for CAL by providing power, hardware, software, training, maintenance and resource support, if required, in the schools.

(c) to (e) Under CAL, the regular school teachers are trained in using the hardware and software so as to enrich the classroom teaching learning processes. The SSA does not support recruitment of separate computer teachers.