ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
4.1.1 The education policy of the Government in the post independence era has been to provide free and compulsory education to all children atleast upto elementary stage. Recognising the need for literate population and provision of elementary education as a crucial input for nation building, the Government's stand was reiterated in the National Policy on Education (NPE 1986) and the Programme of Action 1992, to work towards provision of education of satisfactory quality to all children upto 14 years of age before the commencement of the 21st century.
4.1.2 The targets fixed for the VIII Five Year Plan have the following three broad parameters.
Universal Access i) Universal enrolment of all children, including girls and persons belonging to SC/ST;
ii) Provision of primary school within one km. of walking distance and facility of non-formal education for school drop-outs, working children and girls who cannot attend formal schools;
(iii) Improvement of ratio of upper primary to primary schools from the existing 1:4 to 1:2;
Universal Retention (iv) Reduction of dropout rate between class I to V and I to VIII from the existing 46% and 60% to 20% and 40% respectively;
Universal Achievement (v) Achievement of minimum levels of learning by almost all children at the primary level, and introduction of this concept at the upper primary stage.
Progress over the Years 4.1.3 The concerted efforts over the years have improved performance in enrolment and resulted in increase in institutions, teachers as shown in Table below:
No. of Institutions (in lakhs)
1950-51 1994-95
Primary Schools
(Classes I-V) 2.10 5.8
Upper Primary Schools 0.13 1.6
(Classes VI-VIII)
2.23 7.4
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No. of Teachers (in lakhs)
Primary Schools
(Classes I-V) 5.38 17.14
Upper Primary Schools 0.36 11.22
(Classes VI-VIII)
5.74 28.36
Gross Enrolment
1950-51 1994-95
Primary Stage
Total Enrolment (in millions) 19.2 109.0
Gross Enrolment Ratio((%age) 43.1 104.5
Upper Primary Stage
Total Enrolment (in millions) 3.1 40.2
Gross Enrolment Ratio(%age) 12.0 67.2
4.1.4 In pursuance of constitutional directives, all governments have abolished tuition fees in the government, local body and aided schools upto the upper primary level.
4.1.5 Accessibility of schooling facilities is no longer a major problem. 8.26 lakh habitations covering 94% of the country's population have now schooling facilities within one km. distance at primary stage. At upper primary stage also 726 lakh habitations covering 83.98% of rural population have a school within 3 km. distance. Enrolment ratio is 104 for classes I-V and 67 for Classes VI-VIII.
4.1.6 While the gross enrolment ratio (GER) at the primary stage in the country as a whole and in most of its States exceed 100 percent, there are quite a few States where the ratio is considerably lower. These include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir and Meghalaya. At the upper primary stage, these States and in addition, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim have GERs lower than the national average. Most of these States have literacy rates lower than the national average also. There is thus a strong regional dimension of UEE.
Gender Disparities 4.2.0 While Universalisation of Elementary Education is the ultimate goal, no strategy or programme of action can succeed without addressing itself to gender and regional dimensions specifically. Gender disparities are conspicuous in regard to enrolment and retention, Girls' enrolment has grown at primary stage from 5.4 million in 1950-51 to 46.8 million in 1994-95 and at upper primary stage from 0.5 million to 15.8 million. The rate of growth of enrolment of girls has been higher than that of boys. But disparities still
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persist as girls still account for only 42.8% of enrolment at primary stage and 38.9% at upper primary stage. The drop out rate of girls is much higher than that of boys at primary and upper primary stages.
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes 4.3.1 According to the 1991 census, the population of Scheduled Castes (SCs) was 138.12 million (16.33%) and that of Scheduled Tribes (STs) 67.8 million (8.01%) of the country's population.
4.3.2 SC and ST population are heterogeneous target groups in all respects. There are wide variations among different SC and ST groups regionally. Thus SC girls in Kerala are likely to be better placed than non-SC boys in some of the more backward States and districts.
4.3.3 Because of the affirmative policies of the government, the enrolment of SCs and STs has increased considerably at the primary stage. The participation of SCs and STs is now more or less in proportion to their share in population at the primary level. Drop outs, though declining over the years, are significantly large. Gender disparities are very conspicuous among SCs and STs also.
Strategy Frame 4.4.0 In order to achieve Universalisation of Elementary Education by 2000 AD, following key strategies have been worked out in consultation with States and UTs:
(a) Overcome the problem of school drop outs and lay emphasis on retention and achievement rather than on merely enrolment;
(b) Strengthen the alternatives of schooling, particularly the Non- Formal Education system for working children, girls and children from other disadvantaged or marginalised sections of the society;
(c) Shift focus from educationally backward States to educationally backward districts;
(d) Adopt disaggregated approach with a focus on preparation of district specific and population specific plans;
(e) Provide universal access of schooling facilities, particularly to girls, disaggregated groups and out-of-school children;
(f) Improve school effectiveness, teacher competence, training and motivation;
(g) Introduce Minimum Levels of Learning for enhancement of learners' achievement; micro planning will provide the framework of universal access and universal participation while MLLs would be the strategy for universal achievement;
(h) Overall planning and management and stress on participative processes;
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(i) Convergence of different schemes of elementary education and related services such as early childhood care and education and school health and nutrition programmes etc.
Minimum Levels of Learning 4.5.1 India is one of the few developing countries which took initiative in 1991 to lay down Minimum Levels of Learning to be achieved at primary stage. This new approach integrates various components of curriculum, class-room transaction, evaluation and teacher orientation. The first phase of the. programme was implemented through 18 voluntary agencies, research institutions, SCERTs etc. The results of these projects show significant improvement in learning attainments of school children.
4.5.2 The Ministry has now decided to upscale the MLL programme through institutional mechanism throughout the country. The national resource institutions like National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT), Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs), SCERTs and DIETs are being networked for this purpose. In 1995-96 more than half of the States were implementing the programme with the assistance of more than 200 DIETs. Curriculum revision, re-writing of textbooks to make them competency based, enhancing their pedagogical value, training of teachers in the classroom processes are major activities undertaken.
4.5.3 Laying down of MLLs is a part of larger curriculum reform endeavour to achieve greater relevance and functionality in primary education. The implications of this exercise are:
(a) Lightening the curriculum of its textual load and also the burden of memorising unnecessary and irrelevant content of facts;
(b) Relating textual content with a meaningful process of understanding and application:
(c) Ensuring the acquisition of basic competencies and skills to such a level where they are sustainable and would not easily allow relapsing into illiteracy;
(d) Facilitating mastery in learning not only by brighter children in the class but also by almost all children including first generation learners.
4.5.4 A Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. R.H. Dave has also been formed to specify learning competencies for various subjects taught at upper primary stage.
Operation Blackboard 4.6.1 The National Policy on Education, 1986 recognising the unattractive school environment, unsatisfactory condition of buildings and insufficiency of instructional material in primary schools, which function as demotivating factors for enrolment and retention, called for a drive symbolically called "Operation Blackboard" for substantial improvement in the quality of primary schools. The scheme was started in 1987-88 to bring all existing primary schools in the country to a minimum standard of physical facilities by providing them with:-
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i) At least two reasonably large all weather rooms alongwith separate toilet facilities for boys and girls;
ii) At least two teachers, as far as possible one of them a woman; and
iii) Essential teaching and learning material including blackboards, maps, charts, a small library, toys and games and some equipment for work experience;
4.6.2 Central assistance has been fully provided to all the targetted primary schools and the coverage is now being extended to upper primary schools. Primary schools with enrolment more than 100 and two teachers are now being provided with a third teacher.
Achievements Under Operation Blackboard
Physical Financial
(Rs. in crores)
Coverage of Sanction of Construction From 1987 During
Schools teachers of class to 1995-96
rooms March '95
TARGET 5.3 lakhs 1.529 lakhs 2.63 lakhs 1515.29 268.26
ACHIEVEMENTS 5.3 lakhs 1.527 lakhs 1.72 lakhs
Out of 1.52 lakh teachers sanctioned 1.43 lakh posts have been filled up.
Expanded OB 8th plan targets Achievements
(As on 31.3.96)
Sanction of third 42,000 (30%) 33,600
teacher
Coverage of Upper 47,000 (30%) 47,000
primary schools.
4.6.3 During the current year as well the next year the thrust is essentially on monitoring of the system and close follow up with the States on the progress and utilisation of the funds sanctioned under the scheme. It is proposed to set up a system of concurrent monitoring and evaluation of the scheme through external agencies. This is expected to provide feedback on areas which might require further strengthening. Because of constant monitoring, the utilisation of funds by States has gone up from 71% during 1993-1994 to 79% during 1994-95, and 82% during 1995-96.
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4.6.4 A new initiative namely Special Orientation Programme for Primary Teachers (SOPT) has been taken up since 1993-94 to give training to Primary Teachers in use of OB materials and MLL strategy with focus on teaching of Language, Mathematics and Environmental Studies. About 18 lakh teachers are likely to be covered during VIII Plan period under SOPT. In addition to this, it is also proposed to launch a new programme of teacher training through distance mode by using satellite transponder. This technology is proposed to be utilised under SOPT as well as for training of maths teachers in the three States of Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka.
Non Formal Education
Objectives and Description of the Scheme 4.7.1 The National Policy on Education, 1986 had taken a realistic view of the enormous task of achieving UEE in its entirety (access, retention as well as achievement). It recognised the fact that the schools would not reach all children particularly millions of girls and working children whose participation in the school system is thwarted by socioeconomic conditions. The policy, therefore, called for a large and systematic programme of non-formal education as an integral component of the strategy to achieve UEE with enough flexibility to enable the learners to learn at their own pace and at the same time having quality comparable with formal education.
4.7.2 The scheme was conceived in 1979-80 scaled up in 1987 and revised in 1993 with emphasis on organisational, flexibility, relevance of curriculum, diversity in learning activity to suit the needs of learners through decentralised management. The scheme primarily covers the educationally backward States of Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jammu & Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. It also covers Urban Slums, hilly, desert and tribal areas and areas with concentration of working children in other States as well. The main features of the scheme are:
- Condensed course of about 2 years
- Part time instructions at a time and place convenient to learners in small groups
- Part time honorary instructors and supervisors locally recruited and trained.
- Use of a curriculum comparable to the formal system as well as relevant to local environment and learner' interest
- Testing and Certification enabling entry into formal stream
- Emphasis on flexibility and decentralisation
- Special emphasis on girls education
4.7.3 At present, the scheme is being implemented in 21 States/UTs. Under the scheme, central assistance is provided to States/UTs and voluntary agencies on the following pattern:
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1. Co-educational centres and 60%
administrative support
(State-run Centres)
2. Exclusively girls centres 90%
(State-run Centres)
3. Centres run by Voluntary 100%
Agencies.
Implementation in 1995-96 4.7.4 An outlay of Rs. 704.00 crores (Rs. 625.00 crores under State sector and Rs. 79.00 crores in the Voluntary sector) has been approved for NFE programmes for the 8th Five Year Plan period. Allocation for 1995-96 is Rs. 158.50 crores (Rs. 133.50 crores under State Sector and Rs. 25.00 crores under Voluntary Sector.) Fund utilisation was 100% in 1995-96 in the State Sector as well as Voluntary Sector.
4.7.5 In the State Sector, the number of centres sanctioned has increased from 2.20 lakhs in 1994-95 to 2.41 lakh in 1995-96. In the voluntary sector the total number of sanctioned centres is 38,000 as against 30,000 in 1994-95. Thus so far a total of 2.79 lakh centres have been sanctioned in 21 States/UTs under the scheme. For the first time State Govt. of Arunchal Pradesh has taken up the programme with central assistance.
4.7.6 Out of 2.41 lakh NFE centres in the State sector, 1. 16 lakh centres are exclusively for girls. Approximate number of girl beneficiaries in these centres is 29.00 lakh. Government of Orissa have been sanctioned 8,000 exclusive girls' centres mainly for tribal areas.
4.7.7 The State of Bihar made notable progress by developing competency based books and supplementary material for NFE children. The programme started picking up in this State after a relatively low key implementation-in the last three years. In Uttar Pradesh, the programme has been reviewed with focus on relocation of centres and simplified procedures for payment of honorarium/salary to project functionaries.
4.7.8 A conference of State Education Ministers was organised in April, 1995 to discuss the major issues in Elementary Education including NFE. Based on the deliberations, the State Governments have prepared Action Plans laying down Quarterly milestones. The programme is being monitored on the basis of the action plans prepared by the State Governments. For the first time, concurrent evaluation of the scheme through independent agencies has been initiated.
4.7.9 A National Workshop was organised in NCERT in January 1995, to review the scheme of NFE. As follow up of the National Workshop, seven State level workshops were organised in major States implementing the scheme. Deliberations in these workshops have brought greater clarity in the operation of the scheme and thrown up a number of important issues for improvement of the programme in future.
4.7.10 Another important achievement in the current financial year has been enlisting increased participation of NGOs in the programme. 113 more NGOs have been sanctioned about 8,000 additional centres under the programme in 1995-96.
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4.7.11 Under the scheme of Experimental and Innovative Programmes, new strategies on pilot basis in areas such as micro-planning survey, running of NFE centres, training, material development, education for disabled and working children, health education programmes etc. are taken up. At present 41 such projects are in operation. In addition 21 NGOs are running District Resource Units for providing resource support to the NFE Programme.
4.7.12 NFE forms an important component of the strategies adopted for UEE in internationally assisted projects including District Primary Education Project (DPEP), Lok Jumbish Project(LJP), Bihar Education Project (BEP) and Shiksha Karmi Project (SKP). These projects are seeking to improve and enrich the existing NFE programme through participative Micro-planning, active community involvement, better supervision and support; training and retraining of instructors in multi-grade learning techniques; development of learner-friendly innovative teaching materials and provision of basic amenities at the NFE Centres in a more planned and efficient manner.
4.7.13 Keeping in view various findings and feed back from different studies, the NFE programme is being consolidated, strengthened and cautiously extended.
Teacher Education 4.8.1 The National Policy on Education 1986 took full cognizance of the crucial importance of teacher education and called for an overhaul of the teacher education system in the country. The centrally Sponsored Scheme of Restructuring & Reorganisation of Teacher Education taken up in 1987-88 in pursuance of the NPE envisages on the one hand strengthening of the institutional base of teacher training and on the other taking up special programmes for training of teachers in specified areas and other non-institutional programmes of orientation of teachers. The Centrally Sponsored Scheme provides for setting up of District Institutes of Education & Training (DIETs) to provide training and resource support to elementary education (both formal and non-formal) and adult education systems at the grass root level, upgradation of selected Secondary Teacher Education Institutions (STEIs) into Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs)/Institutions of Advanced Study in Education (IASEs) to provide similar training and resource support to secondary education, Strengthening of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs) and also strengthening and establishment of University Departments of Education (through the UGC). In addition to this strengthening of the institutional frame-work, a Programme of Mass Orientation of School Teachers (PMOST) was also taken up under this scheme during 1986-1990 to provide orientation to school teachers in the main thrust areas of the National Policy on Education and also to improve their general competence. About 17.62 lakh teachers were covered. Another such programme, namely Special Orientation Programme for Primary Teachers (SOPT) has been taken up since 1993-94 to provide orientation to primary teachers in the use of teaching-learning materials supplied under Operation Blackboard and also to train them in the Minimum Levels of Learning strategy with focus on teaching of language, mathematics and environmental studies.
4.8.2 DIETs have so far been set up in 424 districts. The target is to cover all districts in the country by the end of 8th Five Year Plan period. During 1995-96, 30 DIETs were sanctioned.
4.8.3 107 Secondary Teacher Education Institutes in the country have so far been upgraded into Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs)/Institutions of Advanced Study in
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Education (IASEs)-73 CTEs and 34 IASEs. It is proposed to setup 135 CTEs/IASEs by the end of 8th Five Year Plan period subject to availability of adequate resources. During 1995-96, 20 CTEs/IASEs were sanctioned.
4.8.4 18 projects of strengthening of SCERTs have so far been approved. Various other states are in the process of formulation of their detailed project proposals. During 1995-96, ten projects of strengthening of SCERTs were sanctioned. Under the Special Orientation Programme for Primary Teachers 2.39 lakh teachers have so far been covered.
4.8.5 As regards strengthening of University Departments of Education, the UGC has selected Department of Education in five universities under Special Assistance Programme at the level of Departmental Research Support (DRS). These Universities are Kashi Vidyapeeth, M.S. University of Baroda, Osmania University, Rohilkhand University and Punjab University. The UGC has, also decided to assist some distinguished university departments on regional basis for taking M.A. course in Education.
4.8.6 Regional Institutes of Education have worked out details for establishment of Teacher's Centres(TC)/Block Level Resource Centres (BLRC) in their respective districts. These are being examined by the NCERT to design a uniform pattern of TCs/BLRCs.
4.8.7 During the year 1996-97 it is proposed to sanction DIETs in the remaining 28 CTEs/IASEs, and take up strengthening of SCERTs in the remaining States. Under SOPT the target is to cover 4.5 lakhs teachers this year. The emphasis during 1994-95 and 1995-96 remained on operationalization of the projects already sanctioned and to accelerate the pace of utilization of funds already released to the States. The number of operational DIETs increased from 312 to 337 during 1995-96 and it is expected that by the end of this year, the number of operational DIETs may exceed 350. It is also proposed to set up a system of concurrent monitoring and evaluation of DIETs. It is hoped that this will facilitate better and speedier implementation of the programme. The States have been requested to draw-up action plans detailing the time bound steps proposed to be taken for effective operationalisation of DIETs.
4.8.8 A significant innovation in reaching out to teachers in remote areas through satellite and interactive technology is under implementation in three States of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Assam in the initial phase.
National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) 4.9.1 As per the provisions laid down in the National Policy on Education, 1986 and the Programme of Action for its implementation, National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) has been conferred statutory status under the NCTE Act, 1993 passed by the Parliament.
4.9.2 The Act provides for achieving of planned and coordinated development of the teacher education system throughout the country, the regulation and proper maintenance of norms and standards in teacher education system.
4.9.3 The Council has been operationalised with the appointment of Chairman, Vice-chairman, Secretary and establishment of four regional centres.
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Bal Bhavan Society India, New Delhi 4.10.1 The Bal Bhavan Society India, (BBSI) New Delhi, was established by the Government of India in 1956 at the initiative of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. An autonomous institution fully funded by the Department of Education, the BBSI has been contributing towards enhancing the creativity amongst children in the age group 5-16 years especially from the weaker sections of society. The children can pursue activities of their choice ranging from creative/performing arts, environment, astronomy, photography, integrated activities, physical activities to science related activities in a joyful manner. The programmes are so designed as to explore the inner potential of a child and giving him opportunities for expression of ideas through various media. Bal Bhavan thus aims at the all round growth of children in a free and happy atmosphere and helps them develop a scientific temper.
4.10.2 Since its inception, the membership of Bal Bhavan has grown from 300 in 1956 to over a lakh in the recent years. In order to cater to the requirements of the children who cannot afford to participate in Bal Bhavan activities in its central office, 52 Bal Bhavan Kendras, spread all over Delhi, have been opened. Two Jawahar Bal Bhavans - one in Srinagar and another in Mandi, have been funded. The Bal Bhavan Society India also provides general guidance, training facilities and transfer of information to State and District Bal Bhavans in the country which are affiliated to Bal Bhavan Society India.
4.10.3 During 1995-96, a large number of activities relating to educational and creative development of children have been organised. These include holding workshops, camps, training programmes, cultural exchange programmes, conventions, sports and cultural activities, etc. benefitting thousands of children and trainers. Out of the 16 workshops organised by Bal Bhavan Society, the most important and memorable one was on Popularising and Teaching Astronomy and Space Science through Telescope making and Planetarium Education for SAARC countries. 16 teams from 7 SAARC countries participated in the workshop. Workshops on Visual Art, Book illustration, Creative Arts, Silk Screen Printing, Drawing, Animation, Puppetry etc. have been widely acclaimed. Among other significant events organised by BBSI this year was holding of the National Bal Shree Camp in which 9 most creative children were selected and given away the Bal Bhavan Awards at Rashtrapati Bhawan. The National Training Resource Centre of Bal Bhavan Society conducted six training workshops in which about 176 children took part. To generate awareness amongst children about various important global issues, events like Environment Week, National Literacy Meet, World Habitat Day, National Integration Camp were organised, besides commemorating the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Other note-worthy events organised by BBSI are Computer Awareness Programme, Kavi Sammelan and Environment Rally, Culture Craft Conservation Convention, Annual Chess Tournament etc. A National Conference of Young Environmentalists was also held to focus children's attention on several environment problems and their probable solution. The projects of Skating Rink and Traffic park are under progress. The Bal Bhavan Society is planning to set-up a mini crafts village to familiarise the children with our traditional and dying folk arts and crafts.
Shiksha Karmi Project 4.11.1 Rajasthan Shiksha Karmi Project (SKP) is being implemented since 1987 in Rajasthan with assistance from Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) to the tune of 52 million.
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4.11.2 During Phase-I of Shiksha Karmi Project (87-94), SIDA and Government of Rajasthan shared the expenditure in the ratio of 90: 10. During Phase-II of the Project (9497) provision of Rs.480.00 crore would be shared between SIDA and Government of Rajasthan in the proportion of 50:50.
4.11.3 The project now covers 1583 villages in 85 blocks of Rajasthan. 3680 Shiksha Karmis provide primary education to approximately 1.22 lakh children in day schools and Prehar Pathashalas (schools of convenient timing). The project has achieved success in universalising enrolment and attendance of children in several project villages. Levels of learning have improved and so has retention of enrolled children. SKP has devised an effective model for support, supervision and monitoring of quantitative and qualitative aspects of primary education in partnership with NGOs. The project is known for its open participative style and continuous innovations and experiments to achieve its objectives. The approach, strategies and achievements of the SKP have attracted national and international recognition.
4.11.4 The Project aims at Universalisation and qualitative improvement of primary education in remote and socio-economically backward villages in Rajasthan with primary attention given to girls. The project identifies teachers' absenteeism as a major obstacle in achieving the objective of UEE and has evolved a strategy of recruiting and training local teachers called Shiksha Karmi.
4.11.5 Implementation, structure and mechanism of the project have been so designed that the State Government and non-governmental organisations work in close partnership in designing, organising and conducting training for SK trainers and overseeing training of Shiksha Karmis. NGOs are also responsible for the project supervision and support of Shiksha Karmis. The Project design is based on the assumption that education services must have community support if they are to meet the needs of deprived sections in the rural areas. With innovative teacher training, child centred, multigrade teaching and the overall support the students' achievement levels are framed to be comparable to those in the formal system. The retention rates have also shown an upward trend.
PHYSICAL PROGRESS
Sl. Activity Target Achieve- Target Achievement
No. Upto ment for upto March,
March, upto 1995-96 1996.
1995. March 1995.
(1) (2) (3) (4) (4)
1. Districts 27 27 27
covered
2. Blocks 87 79 + 20 85
3. Number of 87 97 + 20 114
Units.
4. Day Schools 1366 1258 + 300 1583