ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (INCLUDING NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND OPERATION BLACKBOARD)
3.1 The progress of implementation in respect of major programmes is indicated below:-
OPERATION BLACKBOARD 3.2 The National Policy onl Education 1986 recommends a child centred approach to elementary education. It is necessary in this connection that the academic programme and school activities should be built around the child, and the school environment and condition of school facilities should be such as to encourage the retention of children in school. The policy therefore, envisages a phased drive with central assistanace called 'Operation Blackboard' for the improvement of primary schools all over the country by providing them with (i) two reasonably large rooms that are usable in all weather; (ii) necessary torys and games material, blackboards, maps, charts and learning material, and (iii) an additional teacher, preferably a woman, wherev- er there is only one to a school. The drive is phased to cover 20% community devcelopment blocks/ municipal areas in 1987-88, 30% in 1988-89 and 50% in 1989-90.
3.3 This scheme was approved by the Government after detailed consul- tations with the States and anote indicating salient features of the scheme was sent to all States/UTs on 26th of May, 1987. The States have been advised to see that no district is left out and preference is given in selection of blocks to educationally disadvantaged STs minorities, but with regard to the chances of success of the scheme. As regards municipal areas, the States have been advised to adopt their own selection criteria. A survey proforma was sent to the States to ascertain availability of each of these items in every primary school in the identifies blocks, which formed block level projects. For the years 1988-89 and 1989-90, the NCERT has been requested to take up the survey in continuation of and alongwith the Fifth Educational Survey. NCERT have drafted specifications, in consultation with the Bureau of Indian Standards, in respect of the items to be supplied.
3.4 The survey of schools in the selected blocks and the preparation of Block Project Reports has been completed in whole country. State Level Empowered Committees (SLEC) have met and sanctioned the require- ment of funds for the scheme in all but 2 States and 2 UTs. The budget provision of the scheme for 1987-88 was Rs. 100.00 crores. It is now expected that approximately Rs. 110 crores would bne utilised covering approximately 1,12,100 schools in 1720 blocks. The total number of primary schools in 1985 was 5.19 lakhs, hence the coverage by schemes sanctioned under OB in 1987-88 will exceed 20%. The number of teachers sanctioned will be about 36,500. State Government have been able to successfully earmark over Rs. 250 crores to bring all school buildings in these blocks upto the requirement of two all weather rooms with a verandah.
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NON-FORMAL EDUCATION 3.5 The scheme of Non-Formal Education (NFE) was introduced during the sixth Five Year Plan as a centrally assisted scheme in 9 educa- tionally backward States, namely, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pra- desh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir, West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, to which now would be added Arunachal Pradesh, has since been reorganised and expanded. Under the revised Scheme, assistance will continue to be given to these 10 States for running NFE centres in the ratio 50:50 and 90:10 for general NFE centres and NFE centres for girls respectively. In addition, assistance will now also be given to States other than the educationally backward, for NFE pro- grammes for children in urban slums, hilly, desert and tribal areas and projects for education of working children.
3.6 Positive measure are being taken to involve in NFE as many volun- tary agencies and panchayati raj institutions as possible, which can suitably take up this programme. The scheme for assistance to Volun- tary Agencies has been revised in January, 1987. In the revised scheme the required flexibility has been provided and the procedures for sanction and disbursement of grants to them have been streamlined so that there is much less delay in processing their cases and in disbursing grants to them.
3.7 The essential features of the scheme of NFE are organisational flexibility, relevance of curriculum, diversity in learning activities to relate them to the learners' needs, and decentralisation of mange- ment. It is proposed to implement the programme on a project basis with a project being generally co- terminus with a CD block. Each project would have about 100 non- formal education centres.
3.8 The scheme of non-formal education was approved by the Cabinet on 11-5-1987 and was communicated to the State Governments on 15-5-1987. State Government were requested to send their proposals by June, 1987.
3.9 A seminar was held inl NIEPA on 29-30th July, 1987 to discuss the programme with the State Government representatives, with a view to promoting clarity about the detailed implementation of the Scheme. Following this, a more elaborate set of guidelines was sent to the State Governments, and meetings held by Education Secretary in several state capitals to review the progress of project formulation.
3.10 Project proposals were finally received from and sanctioned to the State Government/UTs of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Mizoram, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Rajasthan, Karnataka and Assam. Altogether, against the. commulative target of 1.94 lakh centres, 1.84 lakhs centres would have been set up by the State Governments, involving an expenditure of Rs. 3552.44 lakhs in 1987-88.
3.11 As regards release of grants to voluntary organisations it was decided that the meetings of the grant-in-aid committee would be held every month. The response from voluntary organisations has been favourable. 156 Organisations have been given approval by the grant-in-aid Committee for setting up 13845 centres against the target of 6,000 centres. 11 proposals for experimental and innovative project have been approved.
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