Cabinet approves continuation of Samagra Shiksha Scheme for School Education

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for the continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years i.e., from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total financial outlay of Rs.2,94,283.04 crore which includes Central share of Rs.1,85,398.32 crore.

Benefits:

The scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students, and 5.7 million teachers of Govt. and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level).

Details:

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The Samagra Shiksha scheme is an integrated scheme for school education covering the entire gamut from pre-school to class XII. The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4). The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

The major interventions, across all levels of school education, proposed under the scheme are: (i) Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention; (ii) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy, (iii) Gender and Equity; (iv) Inclusive Education; (v) Quality and Innovation; (vi) Financial support for Teacher Salary; (vii) Digital initiatives; (viii) RTE Entitlements including uniforms, textbooks, etc.; (ix) Support for ECCE; (x) Vocational Education; (xi) Sports and Physical Education; (xii) Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training; (xiii) Monitoring; (xiv) Programme Management, and (xv) National Component.

Following new interventions have been incorporated in the revamped Samagra Shiksha based on the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020:

• In order to enhance the direct outreach of the scheme, all child-centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT-based platform over a period of time.
• The scheme will have an effective convergence architecture with various Ministries/ developmental agencies of the Centre and State Governments. The expansion of vocational education will be done in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other Ministries providing funding for Skills. The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be used to ensure optimum utilization of the facilities, not only for school-going children but also for out-of-school children.
• Provision of training of Master Trainers for the training of Anganwadi workers and In-service teacher training for ECCE teachers.
• Provision of up to Rs 500 per child for Teaching Learning Materials (TLM), indigenous toys and games, play-based activities per annum for pre-primary sections in Government Schools.
• NIPUN Bharat, a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy to ensure that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing, and numeracy at the end of grade III and not later than grade V has been launched under the scheme with the provision of TLM up to Rs 500 per child per annum, Rs 150 per teacher for teacher manuals and resources, Rs 10-20 lakh per district for assessment.
• Specific training modules under  NISHTHA  by NCERT to train Secondary teachers and Primary teachers.
• Strengthening of the infrastructure of schools from pre-primary to senior secondary, earlier pre-primary was excluded.
• Incinerator and sanitary pad vending machines in all girls' hostels.
• Addition of new subjects instead of Stream in existing senior secondary schools.
• Transport facility has been extended to secondary level @ up to Rs 6000 per annum.
• For out-of-school children at 16 to 19 years of age, support will be provided to SC, ST, disabled children, up to Rs 2000 per child per grade to complete their secondary/senior secondary levels through NIOS/SOS.
• Financial support for State Commission for Protection of Child Rights @ Rs 50 per elementary school in the state, for protection of child rights and safety.
• A holistic, 360-degree, multi-dimensional report showing the progress/ uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains will be introduced in the form of Holistic Progress Card (HPC).
• Support for activities of PARAKH, a national assessment centre (Performance, Assessments, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development)
• Additional Sports grant of up to Rs. 25000 to schools in case at least 2 students of that school win a medal in Khelo India school games at the National level.
• Provision for Bagless days, school complexes, internships with local artisans, curriculum and pedagogical reforms, etc included.
• A new component Appointment of Language Teacher has been added in the scheme- components of training of teachers and bilingual books and teaching-learning material added, besides support for the salary of teachers.
• Provision made for all KGBVs to be upgraded to class XII.
• Enhanced financial support for existing Stand-alone Girls' Hostels for classes IX to XII (KGBV Type IV) of up to Rs 40 lakh per annum (earlier Rs 25 lakh per annum).
• Training for 3 months for inculcating self-defense skills under 'Rani Laxmibai Atma Raksha Prashikshan' and amount increased from Rs 3000 to Rs 5000 per month.
• A separate provision of stipend for CWSN girls @ Rs. 200 per month for 10 months, in addition to student component from pre-primary to senior secondary level.
• Provision of annual identification camps for CWSN at block level @Rs. 10000 per camp and equipping of Block Resource centres for rehabilitation and special training of CWSN.
• Provision for Establishment of New SCERT has been included and new DIETs in districts created up to 31st March 2020.
• Setting up of assessment cell preferably at SCERT to conduct various achievement surveys, develop test materials & item banks, training of various stakeholders & test administration, data collection analysis, and report generation, etc.
• The academic support of BRCs and CRCs has been extended for the pre-primary and Secondary levels also.
• Support under   Vocational  Education extended to Government aided schools also in addition to Government Schools and grant/number of job roles/sections linked to enrolment and demand.
• Provision of Classroom cum workshop for Vocational Education in schools serving as Hub for other schools in the neighbourhood. Provision of transport and assessment cost for schools serving as spokes has been made.
• Provision of ICT labs, Smart classrooms including support for digital boards, smart classrooms, virtual classrooms, and DTH channels have been provided.
• Child tracking provision included for students of Government and Government aided schools
• Support for Social Audit covering 20% of schools per year so that all schools are covered in a period of five years.

Implementation Strategy and Targets:

The Scheme is implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme through a single State Implementation Society (SIS) at the State level. At the National level, there is a Governing Council/Body headed by the Minister of Education and a Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by the Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy. The Governing Council/body will be empowered to modify financial and programmatic norms and approve the detailed guidelines for implementation within the overall framework of the scheme. Such modifications will include innovations and interventions to improve the quality of school education.

In order to enhance the direct outreach of the scheme, all child-centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode on an IT-based platform over a period of time.

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The Scheme covers 1.16 million schools, over 156 million students, and 5.7 million Teachers of Government and Aided schools (from pre-primary to senior secondary level) by involving all stakeholders of the school ecosystem i.e. Teachers, Teacher Educators, Students, Parents, Community, School Management Committees, SCERTs, DIETs, BITEs, Block Resource Persons, Cluster Resource Persons, Volunteers for providing quality, inclusive and equitable education. Further, the scheme will have an effective convergence architecture with various Ministries/ developmental agencies of the Centre and State Governments. As envisaged in NEP 2020, there will be a greater focus on imparting skills among the students. The expansion of vocational education will be done in convergence with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and other Ministries providing funding for Skills. The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be used to ensure optimum utilization of the facilities, not only for school-going children but also for out-of-school children.

Major Impacts:

The Scheme aims to universalize access to school education; promote equity through the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and to improve the quality of education across all levels of school education. The major objectives of the Scheme are to Support States and UTs in:

1. Implementing the recommendations of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020);
2. Implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009;
3. Early Childhood Care and Education;
4. Emphasis on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy;
5. Thrust on Holistic, Integrated, Inclusive and activity-based Curriculum and Pedagogy to impart 21st-century skills to the students;
6. Provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students;
7. Bridging Social and Gender Gaps in School Education;
8. Ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education;
9. Strengthening and up-gradation of State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)/State Institutes of Education and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) as the nodal agency for teacher training;
10. Ensuring a safe, secure, and conducive learning environment and maintenance of standards in schooling provisions and
11. Promoting vocational education.

AtmaNirbhar Bharat:

Recognizing the crucial role of Foundational skills in the national development, it was announced under the 'AtmaNirbhar Bharat' campaign that a National Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Mission will be launched, for ensuring that every child in the country necessarily attains foundational literacy and numeracy in Grade 3 by 2026-27. In this context, the "National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat)" has been launched on 5th July 2021 under Samagra Shiksha.

Details and progress of scheme if already running:

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The Scheme is being implemented as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme in partnership with State and UT Governments to support the States and UTs in universalizing access and improving the quality of school education across the country. The achievements of Samagra Shiksha are as follows:

•      During 2018-2019 to 2020-2021, 1160 schools have been upgraded at Elementary, Secondary, and Higher Secondary level, 54 new residential schools/ hostels have been opened, 41180 schools have been strengthened (including Additional classrooms), 13.51 lakh schools have been provided library facilities, 13.14 lakh schools have been provided sports equipment facility, 12633 schools have been covered under ICT & Digital initiatives, 5579 schools have been covered under vocational education, 783 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class X, 925 KGBVs have been upgraded from class VIII to class XII and 11562 separate girls toilets have been constructed.

•      In addition, during 2018-2019, 4.78 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at the elementary level, 4.24 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 16.76 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.96 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.72 cr children have been provided free textbooks at the elementary level, 0.74 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.58 lakh teachers have been trained, 69173 schools provided self-defense training to girls, 3.79 lakh CWSN girls have been provided a stipend and 23183 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

•      Also, during 2019-2020, 5.07 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at the elementary level, 6.78 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 21.58 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.89 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.78 cr children have been provided free textbooks at the elementary level, 1.76 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 28.84 lakh teachers have been trained, 166528 schools provided self-defense training to girls, 3.22 lakh CWSN girls have been provided a stipend and 24030 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

•      Also, during 2020-2021, 3.23 lakh out of school children have been provided special training at the elementary level, 2.41 lakh children have been provided transport and escort facility, 32.67 lakh children have been covered under Section 12(l)(c) of the RTE Act, 6.57 cr children have been provided free uniforms, 8.84 cr children have been provided free textbooks at the elementary level, 1.44 cr children have been provided remedial teaching, 14.32 lakh teachers have been trained, 81288 schools provided self-defense training to girls, 3.52 lakh CWSN girls have been provided a stipend and 22990 special educators have been provided financial assistance.

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Background:

Union Budget, 2018-19 has announced that school education would be treated holistically and without segmentation from pre-primary to class XII. It is, in this context, that the Department launched the Integrated Scheme for School Education, Samagra Shiksha in 2018 by subsuming the erstwhile Centrally Sponsored Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), and Teacher Education (TE). The scheme treats school education as a continuum and is in accordance with Sustainable Development Goal for Education (SDG-4). The scheme not only provides support for the implementation of the RTE Act but has also been aligned with the recommendations of NEP 2020 to ensure that all children have access to quality education with an equitable and inclusive classroom environment which should take care of their diverse background, multilingual needs, different academic abilities and make them active participants in the learning process.

Images used for representational purposes only.

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