3. IINNDDIIAA
Some Basic Facts
• Area :
• Population (2001) :
• Literacy (2001) :
3.2 million sq kms
1.03 billion (16% of world’s
population).
64.8 percent
4. CHALLENGES IN
EDUCATION
According to latest estimates, some 3.5 million
elementary school children still not in school
Wide disparities in the educational status of different
regions
Out of school children are from socially marginalized
groups, especially girls, working children, children of
very poor families, and children in difficult
circumstances
Drop out rates at elementary level as high as 51
percent; rising to 62 percent at secondary level
47 percent children in Class 5 are unable to read a
Class 2 text
6. INDIAN AGENCIES IN EDUCATION
ECCE & Gender Equality – Ministry of
Women &
Child Development
Elementary Education Dept of
School
Education
Adult Education & Literacy
Youth and Adolescents – Ministry of Sports
& Youth Affairs
7. SCHOOL INITIATIVES: ECCE
Integrated Child Development Services
Scheme (ICDS), covering 54 million
children in the 0-6 year age group
Provides a mix of 6 services:
supplementary nutrition, immunisation,
health check up, referral services, pre
school education and nutrition and
health education
USD 2 billion allocated in Budget 2009-10
8. SCHOOL INITIATIVES: DPEP
Preceded by the Bihar Education Project (UNICEF),
Lok Jumbish (SIDA), Shiksha Karmi Project (SIDA), UP
Basic Education Project
Launched in 1994 to universalise access and
retention, to improve learning achievements and to
reduce social gaps
District-based, with a focus on community
involvement, combined with institutional capacity
improvement
At its peak, in 273 districts in 18 States
Among other achievements (infrastructure, etc),
succeeded in raising awareness about the importance
of education
9. SCHOOL INITIATIVES:
SSA
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), national flagship
programme for UEE, launched in 2001
Covers 210 million children, 1 million schools and
nearly 4 million teachers
Annual expenditure on the programme
approximately USD 3.5 billion; overall
expenditure on elementary education USD 25
billion
180,000 new school buildings, 700,000 additional
classrooms, 230,000 new toilets and 170,000
drinking water facilities provided so far
10. SCHOOL INITIATIVES: MDM
Launched in 1995 to provide a meal to all
primary school children
World’s largest school feeding
programme, covering 112 million
children in 950,000 schools
Has resulted in improving retention,
reducing drop out rates and improving
nutritional status of children
2009-10 budget outlay USD 2 billion
11. SCHOOL INITIATIVES: SECONDARY
EDUCATION
93 million children estimated to be in the 14-18 year
age group
Only 33 million enrolled in secondary institutions
Two thirds out of school
Current spending on secondary education USD 1
billion per annum
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan, a programme for
universalising access to secondary education
launched in 2008
12. PROGRAMMES FOR
GIRLS
Special schemes targeted at girls, apart from focus on
girls in general schemes
Kasturba Gandhi Ballika Vidyalaya (KGBV)
National Programme for the Education of Girls at
the Elementary Level (NPEGEL)
Mahila Samakhya
Removal of gender (and other) disparities at the primary
levels (I-V) by 2007, and elementary (I-VIII) level by 2010
Comprehensive plan for adolescents, especially girls, in
the Tenth Five Year Plan
According to UNESCO’s Global Monitoring Report 2006,
India achieved gender parity at elementary level in 2005
14. WHY A RIGHT TO
EDUCATION?
Right to Education linked to a fundamental debate at the
time of writing the Constitution
As beyond a certain age all persons get their right to vote
they should have such education to make their proper
choice for the advancement of our country
Art 45 introduced as a compromise
“The State shall endeavour to provide, within a period of ten years
from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and
compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of
fourteen years” (emphasis added)
15. BASIC CONCEPTS
“Compulsory Education” defined as the
obligation of the State to take all necessary
steps to ensure that every child participates in,
and completes Elementary Education
“Free Education” defined as freedom from
liability to (i) pay any fee to the school, and (ii)
incur such other prescribed expenses as may
be likely to prevent the child from participating
in and completing Elementary Education
16. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE
STATE
Responsibilities at various levels (Centre,
State, local authority) spelt out
State to make available a neighbourhood
school, which fulfils prescribed norms,
for every child within three years
Regular monitoring and taking all
necessary steps including removal of all
barriers (social, economic, academic,
physical, etc), so that every child
completes Elementary Education
