With the objective to improve the quality of school education, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday approved the proposal to formulate an Integrated Scheme on School Education by subsuming Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE) from April 1, 2018 to March 31, 2020.
“The Cabinet has also allocated INR 75,000 crore for the purpose, a 20% increase over the current allocations,” an official statement said.
The scheme comes in the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of ‘Sabko Shiksha, Achhi Shiksha’ and will support all the states in giving access to school education from classes pre-nursery to XII across the country.
“The vision of the scheme is to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education from nursery to senior secondary stage in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal for Education with the emphasis on improving the quality of school education by focusing on Teacher and Technology,” the statement added.
The objectives of the scheme across all levels of schooling include provision of quality education and enhancing learning outcomes of students, bridging social and gender gaps in school education, ensuring equity and inclusion at all levels of school education, ensuring minimum standards in schooling provisions, promoting vocationalization of education, and support states in implementation of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.
Another objective of the scheme is to strengthen and upgrade the State Councils for Educational Research and Training (SCERTs)/State Institutes of Education and District Institutes for Education and Training (DIET) as nodal agencies for teacher training.
“The scheme gives flexibility to the states and UTs to plan and prioritize their interventions within the scheme norms and the overall resource envelope available to them,” the statement said, adding, “It will help improve the transition rates across the various levels of school education and aid in promoting universal access to children to complete school education.”
With providing quality education, the scheme will also equip children with varied skills and knowledge essential for their holistic development and prepare them for the world of work or higher education in the future.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet has also approved the continuation of the Credit Guarantee Fund for Education Loans Scheme and continuation and modification of Central Sector Interest Subsidy Scheme with a financial outlay of INR 6,600 crore from 2017-18 to 2019-20. This is expected to provide education loans to 10 lakh students during this period.