Major schemes for promotion of education

Major schemes for promotion of education

The government spend on education is directed through a number of schemes run by the Central/state government through its bodies or departments. We have enumerated some key schemes implemented by the government for promotion of education.

Pre-school education

Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

The Integrated Child Development Services Scheme (ICDS) is India's flagship program for providing nutritional support, healthcare, and early childhood learning to children from prenatal to 6 years of age. It represents one of the world's largest programs for early childhood development, adopting a multi-sectoral approach to child development, incorporating health, early education and nutrition interventions. Although the government has early education and learning as a component of the ICDS, most of these funds are actually utilised for nutritional support and healthcare in rural areas.

Across the country, a vast majority of elementary schools, especially in rural areas, do not offer pre-school facilities (for children younger than 6 years old). Pre-school in such cases is usually provided through a network of Anganwadi centers (AWCs).

As on June 30, 2007, the ICDS program covered 863,000 village-level AWCs reportedly covering 60.6 million children below 6 years of age and 13 million pregnant women and lactating mothers.

In the budget allocation for 2008-09, ICDS accounts for 94 per cent of the total budget allocation towards child welfare, amounting to Rs 566 million for the year.

K-12 education

Elementary (grade I to VIII)

In the elementary segment, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education are two of the biggest schemes run by the government for promotion and development of elementary education in the country. These two schemes account for close to 80 per cent of the total budgeted allocation of funds for elementary education.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is India's flagship program aimed at Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86^th amendment to the Constitution of India, making free and compulsory education a fundamental right of children from 6-14 years of age. The SSA launched in 2001-2002 in partnership with state governments, aims to achieve 8 years of primary education for all children in the age group 6-14 years by 2010. Central allocation for SSA in 2007-08 was Rs 106.7 billion.

Major components of SSA include:

·        Opening new schools

·        Alternative schooling facilities for out-of-school children

·        Learning equipment for new schools

·        Civil works - Construction of school buildings, additional classrooms, drinking water, toilet facilities, boundary walls, resource etc.

·        Hiring teachers for new schools and additional teachers in existing schools to improve teacher pupil ratios

·        Inclusive education for children with special needs

·        In-service teacher training

·        Innovations/initiatives for SC, ST children

·        Promotion of girl education and early childhood care and education/computer aided learning

·        Free text books for SC, ST, and girls

Achievements under SSA, since inception of the scheme up to September 30, 2007, include:

·        Construction of

?        1,70,320 school buildings

?        7,13,179 additional classrooms

?        1,72,381 drinking water facilities

?        2,18,075 toilets

·        Supply of free textbooks to 66.4 million children

·        Appointment of 0.8 million teachers

·        Opening of 186,985 new schools as on March 31, 2007.

·        In-service training to 3.5 million teachers each year.

National Program of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NPEGEL)

National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education, also known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme was launched on August 15, 1995, and was revised in September 2004 with the following objectives:

·        Universalisation of primary education (classes I - V) by improving enrolment, attendance, retention, and learning levels of children especially those belonging to disadvantaged sections,

·        Improvement in nutritional status of students of primary stage, and

·        Providing nutritional support to students of primary stage in drought-affected areas even during vacation.

The Scheme envisages a provision of a cooked mid-day meal with minimum calorie content of 300 calories and 8-12 gms of protein for all children studying in classes I-V in government, local bodies and government-aided schools.

Achievements under NPEGEL, since inception of the scheme up to September 30, 2007, include:

·        Implementation of this scheme in 35,252 model schools

·        Support to 25,537 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) centres.

·        Construction of 24,387 additional classrooms

·        Training on gender sensitization to 0.18 million teachers

·        Remedial teaching has also to 9.67 lakh girls,

·        Bridge courses covering 0.15 million girls and provision of uniforms, etc. to about 7.1 million girls (up to October 31, 2007).

Secondary education (grade IX to XII)

Although the government has in place a number of schemes for secondary education, a large part of its budgetary allocation towards secondary education is made through direct grants to Kendriya Vidyalayas (KV) and Navodaya Vidyalayas (NV).

In addition, the government has introduced a new scheme aimed at improving access to and quality of education at secondary stage (SUCCESS) during the Eleventh Plan, with an allocation of Rs 22.3 billion in 2008-09. It is primarily aimed at:

·        Universal access of Secondary level education to all students in the age group 15-16 years by 2017

·        Universal retention by 2020.

In the budget allocation for 2008-09, allocation for these three components amounts to Rs 38.6 billion, comprising nearly 70 per cent of the total funds budgeted for secondary education.

Higher education

Funding for general higher education is provided by the Department of Higher Education under the Ministry of Human Resource Development. The UGC is the nodal agency responsible for disbursal of funds to Central and state universities, and receives a large portion of the grants earmarked for university and higher education.

In the budget allocation for 2008-09, grants to the UGC accounted for nearly 50 per cent (Rs 51 billion) of the total  allocation towards higher education.

Distance learning

In India, there are 66 distance education institutions, functioning in 60 universities, besides 11 open universities offering distance education programmes. Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi, is one of the largest open universities in the world and caters to around 1 million students globally.

In the budget allocation for 2008-09, grants to IGNOU constituted 84 per cent (Rs 1 billion) of the total budget allocation towards distance learning.

ICT

Beginning 2008-09, the central government has initiated a new scheme which focuses on equipping teachers in the use of Information Communication and Technology (ICT), a generic term for all the computing and telecommunications equipment in an institution, whether used for research, teaching or administration in teaching and learning.

Technical education

Funding for Technical Higher Education is provided by the Department of Higher Education under the MHRD. Grants are made towards ‘technical education' to Institutions of National Importance, AICTE, and other autonomous institutions and bodies. In the budget allocation for 2008-09, grants to AICTE and the IIT's constituted 70 per cent of the total budget allocation towards technical education.

FDI in education

Education isn't included in the list of sectors wherein foreign direct investment is prohibited, allowing foreign educational providers to enter India through the automatic route as long as Indian operations are owned by a ‘not for profit' legal entity. However, approval of the UGC is mandatory if such an institution is to award degrees or diplomas to students. Additionally, approval of the relevant professional council is mandatory if the institution is to award degrees or diplomas in technical disciplines.