--- title: "Vol 4 3" book: "Final Trends in Indian Education" category: "General" publisher: "Ratan Prakashan Mandir Pvt. Ltd." type: "Educational Material" --- According to Latest Syllabus Read For Sure Success In University Examination RATAN TEXT BOOK TRENDS IN INDIAN EDUCATION Vol-4 M.A.Education (Sem-II) Dr. Rajendra Vyas Published by Ratan Prakashan Mandir Pvt. Ltd. 2nd Floor, Centre Plaza, Parinay Kunj, Lajpat Kunj Marg, Agra-282002 Copyright Authors & Publishers Revised Edition ISBN :978-93-0970-003-3 Price 190.00 only Printed at : KIDS INTERNATIONAL PVT. LTD. C-60, 61, 62, 63, EPIP, Shastripuram, Agra - 282007 Ph. : +91 9719004921 Unit-16 Universalization of elementary, secondary education in terms of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) Structure: 16.1    Introduction 16.2    Learning Objectives 16.3    Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) Self Check Exercise-1 16.4    Major Central interventions and Their Integration with SSA Self Check Exercise-2 16.5    Summary 16.6    Glossary 16.7    Answers to Self Check Exercises 16.8    References/ Suggested readings 16.9    Terminal Questions 16.1    INTRODUCTION The Scheme of SSA a national flagship programme, is being implemented in all districts of the country. The aim of SSA is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for all children in the 14-6 age groups by .2010The scheme of SSA was launched in.2001 The programme covers the entire country with special focus on educational needs of girls, SCs/STs and other children in difficult circumstances. The programme seeks to open new schools in those places which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grant. The SSA has a special focus on girls and children of weaker sections. A number of initiatives, including distribution of free textbooks, target these children under the programme. The SSA also seeks to provide computer education even in the rural areas. RMSA not only emphasizes on providing secondary education for the special focus groups that includes scheduled castes ,scheduled tribes and minorities ,girls and CWSN children, but it also give importance on removing the existing disparities in socioeconomic and gender background in the secondary level of education. They are termed as the vulnerable/ disadvantaged group. Due to the impact of the programmes undertaken for the universalization of elementary education, there is a rise in the demand of education at the secondary level. The RTE Act provides for the: Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighborhood school. It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to every child in the six to fourteen age group. ‘Free’ means that no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. 16.2    LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this unit the students will be able to know about: Aims and objectives of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan Strategies central to SSA programme. Financial norms under SSA programme Major central interventions and their integration with SSA. 16.3    SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (SSA) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an effort to universalize elementary education by communityowner ship of the school system. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. The SSA programme is also an attempt to provide an opportunity for improving human capabilities to the poorest children, through provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode. (a)    WHAT IS SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN A programme with a clear time-frame for universal elementary education. A response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. An opportunity for promoting social justice through basic education. An effort at effectively involving the Panchayati Raj institutions, the School Management Committees, the Village Education Committees, the Parents’ Teachers’ Associations, the Mother Teacher Associations, the Tribal Autonomous Councils in the management of elementary schools. An expression of political wills not universal elementary education at the highest level. A partnership between the Central, State and the local government. An opportunity for States to develop their own vision of elementary education. (b)    AIMS OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN: The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is to provide useful and relevant elementary education for al children in the 6 to 14 age group by 2000. There is also another goal to bridge social and gender gaps, with the active participation of the community in the management of schools. Useful and relevant education signifies a quest for an education system that is not alienating and that draws on community solidarity. Its aims are to allow children to learn about and master their natural environment in a manner that allows the fullest harnessing of their human potential both spiritually and materially. This quest must also be a process of value based learning that allows children an opportunity to work for each others’ well being rather than to per it mere selfish pursuits. (c)    OBJECTIVES OF SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN 1.    All children in school, Education Guarantee Centre, Alternate School, “-to-School camp by 2003; 2.    All children complete five years of primary schooling by 2007. 3.    All children complete eight years of elementary schooling by 2010. 4.    Focus on elementary education of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life. 5.    Bridge all gender and social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary education level by 2010. 6.    Universal retention by 2010. The objectives are expressed nationally though it is expected that various districts and States are likely to achieve universalization in their own respective context and in their own frame time. 2010 is the outer limit for such achievements. The emphasis is on main streaming out-of-school children through diverse strategies, and on providing eight years of schooling for all children 6-14 age group. The thrust is on closing of gender and social gaps and a total retention of all children in schools. The education system has to be made relevant so that children and parents find the schooling system useful, absorbing, and most of all, non-alienating from their natural and social environment. SARVA SHIKSHA ABIYAN AS A FRAMEWOREK AND AS A PROGRAMME Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has two aspects – I) It provides a wide convergent framework for implementation of Elementary Education schemes; II) It is also a programme with budget provision for strengthening vital areas to achieve universalization of elementary education. While all investments in the elementary education sector from the State and Central Plans will reflect as part of the SSA framework, they will all merge into the SSA programme within the next few years. As a programme, it reflects the additional resource provision for UEE. (d)    BROAD STRATEGIES CENTRAL TO SSA PROGRAMME: Institutional Reforms -As part of the SSA the central and the State Governments will undertake reforms in order to improve efficiency of the delivery system. The states will have to make an objective assessment of their prevalent education system including educational administration, achievement levels in schools, financial issues, decentralization and community ownership, review of State Education Act, rationalization of teacher deployment and recruitment of teachers, monitoring and evaluation, education of girls, SC/ST and disadvantaged groups, policy regarding private schools and ECCE. Many States have already carried out changes to improve the delivery system for elementary education. Sustainable Financing-The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan based on the premise that financing of elementary education inventions has to be sustainable. This calls for a long-term perspective on financial partnership between the Central and the State governments. Community Ownership -The programme calls for community ownership of schoolbased interventions through effective decentralisation. This will be augmented by involvement of women’s groups. Institutional Capacity Building -The SSA conceive a major capacity building role for national and state level institutions like NIEPA/NCERT/NCTE/SCERT/SIEMAT. Improvement in quality requires a sustainable support system of resource persons. Improving Mainstream Educational Administration – It calls for improvement of mainstream educational administration by institutional development, infusion of new approaches and by adoption of cost effective and efficient methods. Community Based Monitoring with Full Transparency – The Programme will have a community based monitoring system. The Educational Management Information System (EMIS) will correlate school level data with community-based information from micro planning and surveys. Besides this, every school will have a notice board showing all the grants received by the school and other details. Habitation as a Unit of Planning – The SSA works on a Community based approach to planning with habitation as a unit of planning. Habitation plans will be the basis for formulating district plans. Accountability to community – SSA envisages cooperation between teachers, parents and PRIs, as well as accountability and transparency. Priority to Education of Girls – Education of girls, especially those belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, will be one of the principal concerns in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Focus on Special Groups – There will be a focus on the educational participation of children from SC/ST, religious and linguistic minorities, disadvantaged groups and the disabled children. Pre-Project Phase – SSA will commence throughout the country with a well-planned pre project phase that provides for a large number of interventions for capacity development to improve the delivery and monitoring system. These include provision for communitybased micro-planning and school mapping, training of community leaders, school level activities, support for setting up information system, office equipment, diagnostic studies etc. Trust on Quality – SSA lays a special thrust on making education at the elementary level useful and relevant for children by improving the curriculum, child-centred activities and effective teaching learning strategies. Role of teachers – SSA recognizes the critical and central role of teachers and advocates a focus on their development needs. Setting up of BRC/CRC, recruitment of qualified teachers, opportunities for teacher development through participation in curriculum related material development, focus on classroom process and exposure visits for teachers are all designed to develop the human resource among teachers. District Elementary Education Plans – As per the SSA framework, each district will prepare a District Elementary Education Plan reflecting all the investments being made in the elementary education sector, with a holistic and convergent approach. There will be a Perspective Plan that will give a framework of activities over a longer time frame to achieve UEE. There will also be an Annual Work Plan and Budget that will list the prioritized activities to be carried out in that year. The Perspective Plan will also be a dynamic document subject to constant improvement in the course of Programme Implementation. (e)    FINANCIAL NORMS UNDER SARVA SHIKSHA ABHIYAN The assistance under the programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan will be on 85.15 sharing arrangement during the IX Plan, 75:25 sharing arrangement during the X Plan and 50:50 sharing thereafter between the Central Government and State Governments. Commitments regarding sharing of costs would be taken from State governments in writing. The State Governments will have to maintain their level of investment in elementary education. The contribution as State share for SSA will be over and above this investment. The Government of India would release funds to the State Governments/Union Territories only and instalments (except first) would only be released after the previous instalments of Central Government and State share has been transferred to the State Implementation Society. The support for teacher salary appointed under the SSA programme could be shared between the central government and the State government in a ratio of 85:15 during the IX Plan, 75:25 during the X Plan and 50:50 thereafter. All legal agreements regarding externally assisted projects will continue to apply unless specific modifications have been agreed to, in consultation with foreign funding agencies. Existing schemes of elementary education of the Department (except National Bal Bhawan and NCTE) will coverage after the IX Plan. The National Programme for Nutritional Support to Primary Education (Mid-day-Meal) would remain a distinct intervention with food grains and specified transportation costs being met by the Centre and the cost of cooked meals being met by the State Government. District Education Plans would inter-alia, clearly show the funds/resource available for various components under schemes like JRY, PMRY, Sunshchit Rozgar Yojana, Area fund of MPs/MLAs,, State Plan, foreign funding and resources generated in the NGO sector. All funds to be used for up-gradation, maintenance, repair of schools and Teaching Learning equipment and local management to be transferred to VECs/School Management Committees/Gram Panchayat/or any other village/School level arrangement for decentralisation adopted by that particular State/UT. The village/school-based body may make a resolution regarding the best way of procurement. (f)    Role of Non Governmental Organizations in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan: Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan conceives a vibrant partnership with Non Governmental Organizations in the area of capacity building, both in communities and in resource institutions. These partnerships will require nurturing through an ongoing partnership in activities. The Research, Evaluation, Monitoring activities under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is proposed to be done in partnership with institutions/NGOs. This would improve transparency of programme interventions and would also encourage a more open assessment of achievements. In the education sector, non-governmental organizations have been making very meaningful contributions. Work related to pedagogy, mainstreaming out of school children developing effective teacher training programmes, organizing community for capacity development for planning and implementation, expressing gender concerns, work in the sphere of disability among children, are some such examples. Their partnership is conceived in three ways: Through direct funding by Central and State governments; Through funding activities by identified National and State Resource Institutions; Through participation in community activities funded by Village Education Committees. NGOs can discharge a very useful role in advocacy as well as accountability of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Under the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE), it has been decided to fund NGOs (other than experimental and innovative Projects) through State implementation Societies. It will also be possible to record the contribution of NGO Projects in the District Elementary education Plans as their interventions would also be made in the DEEP. It will facilitate transparency of NGO activities also. Substantial partnership of NGOs is conceived through community organisations like VEC, PTA, MTA, SMCs, etc. This is suggested so that NGOs actually participate in building capacities in the community. It also facilitates transparency in NGO activities. SELF- CHECK EXERCISE-1 Q.1 What is the primary objective of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)? a)    To increase the number of private schools b)    To universalize elementary education through community ownership and involvement c)    To provide free textbooks to all students d)    To construct new schools nationwide Q.2 Which of the following is NOT a focus area of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)? a)    Bridging social and gender gaps in education b)    Increasing the duration of the school day c)    Improving the quality of elementary education d)    Ensuring the retention of all children in school Q.3 According to SSA, what is the target year for achieving universal elementary education (UEE) for all children aged 6 to 14? a)    2000 b)    2003 c)    2007 d)    2010 Q.4 What major strategy does the SSA emphasize for improving the quality of education? a)    Focusing on rote learning b)    Expanding school infrastructure only c)    Enhancing curriculum and child-centered activities d)    Increasing the number of subjects taught Q.5 Which groups are given special priority under the SSA program? a)    Only urban children b)    Wealthy families c)    Girls, SC/ST, and disadvantaged groups d)    Non-resident Indians Q.6 What is the financial sharing arrangement for SSA between the Central and State Governments during the IX Plan? a)    75:25 b)    85:15 c)    50:50 d)    100:0 Q.7 How does SSA approach the planning and implementation of educational strategies? a)    Through a centralized approach b)    Through community-based planning with habitation as a unit c)    By only focusing on urban areas d)    By increasing school fees Q.8 What role do Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) play in the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan? a)    They solely manage the funds allocated for the program b)    They are involved in capacity building, community activities, and advocacy c)    They replace government schools with private institutions d)    They focus only on providing infrastructure for schools Q. 9 Which of the following is a key feature of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) framework? a)    Centralized decision-making without community input b)    Sustainable financing and community ownership of school-based interventions c)    Focus exclusively on urban schools d)    Eliminating all private schools Q.10 What does the SSA framework emphasize regarding teacher development? a)    Hiring only untrained teachers b)    Increasing the number of teachers without considering their training c)    Recognizing the critical role of teachers and focusing on their professional development d)    Reducing the number of teachers and increasing class sizes 16 .4 MAJOR CENTRAL INTERVENTIONS AND THEIR INTEGRATION WITH SSA There have been several innovative schemes in the sector of elementary education following the national policy on Education in 1986 such as Operation blackboard, Teacher Education, Non Formal Education, Mahila Samakhya, National Programme for Nutritional Support for primary Education, State Specific Education projects in Bihar, Rajasthan, up and Andhra Pradesh and DPEP in 219 districts of 15 States. It proposed to integrate these in the fold of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in the following manner: - 1. ) Operation Blackboard aimed to improve physical infrastructure of education whereby school space was expanded and more teachers proved. However, Operation blackboard could not cover the entire spectrum of schools. The SSA will qualitatively improve and expand the existing structure. No fresh teacher recruitment will take place under OBB once SSA programme is operational zed. Support for teachers’ salaries under OBB will; however, continue where teachers have already been appointed under that scheme. Efforts to access funds for classrooms from rural/urban employment schemes will continue to be made, even though ear marking is no more applicable to these funds. ii)    Strengthening of Teacher Education: The revised scheme of Teacher Education provides for a Memorandum of Understanding with the states in order to ensure that they receive priority attention of state governments, especially with regard to filling up of vacancies through a rigorous selection criteria. The scheme will be a part of the SSA framework till the end of the IX Plan, after which it will merge in the SSA programme. This will supplement the DIETs, which provide guidance at district level. (iii ) National Programme of Nutritional Support for Primary Education: Evaluation of the National Programme of Nutritional Support for Primary Education indicates that the supply goods grains lead to improvement in student attendance while raising their nutritional standard. It is proposed to continue the scheme with suitable modifications, in consultation with States. iv)    Mahila Samakhya: Evaluation studies on the Mahila Samakhya approach indicates the progress made in empowerment of women. This in turn generates demand for elementary education of girls. There is a need to further strengthen these linkages with basic education of girls by giving women’s groups a more active role in the management of the school. Though the scheme of Mahila Samakhya will retain its district identity at the State and the district level, it will provide support for the planning and implementation of SSA in districts implementing Mahila Samakhya. v)    Education Guarantee Scheme and Alternative and Innovative Education: Studies on the Non-Formal Education scheme have pointed out the lack of flexibility which impedes effective implementation across different States. Efforts to provide for a diversity of interventions have been made in the revised scheme that has been approved recently such as setting up of Education Guarantee Schools, Alternative Schooling facilities, Balika Shikshan Shivir, ` to School’ camps, etc. The revised NFE scheme called EGS and AIE will be a component of the SSA and be absorbed in it by the end of the IX Plan. SSA programme will provide planning and management support to operationalize the EGS and AIE scheme. vi)    District Primary Education Programme (DPEP): DPEP districts indicate that decentralized planning and implementation facilitates community involvement on the process of enrolment. DPEP has met with variety of degree of success in different States. Some have availed of DPEP benefits and have improved their elementary education sector. A large number of teacher vacancies have been filled up in many DPEP states. Setting up of Block and Cluster Resource Centers has facilitated academic interaction among teachers. Development of new textbooks with the participation of teaches and experts have been encouraging in most DPEP states. All DPEP districts would also be part of the SSA framework. Efforts to prepare comprehensive District Elementary Education Plans will be made in DPEP districts. The focus will be on vertical expansion into Upper Primary Education and on consolidation of the primary schooling efforts. Vii Lock Jumbish Project: Under the LJP, evaluation studies indicate the positive impact of the micro planning and school mapping in which the community is involved. There are specific interventions for girl’s education through Balika Shiksha Shivirs and Sahaj Shiksha Kendras. While there has been improvement in enrolment and retention, the actual learning achievements have been modest. LJP will be implemented in 13 districts of Rajasthan and holistic District Plans will be prepared for these districts also. LJP will be a part of the SSA framework. SELF- CHECK EXERCISE-2 Q.1 What was the primary focus of Operation Blackboard (OBB) before its integration into the SSA? a)    Increasing teacher salaries b)    Improving physical infrastructure and expanding school space c)    Providing free textbooks d)    Introducing new subjects in the curriculum Q.2 How will the SSA handle teachers’ salaries for those appointed under Operation Blackboard (OBB)? a)    Teachers’ salaries will be discontinued b)    Teachers’ salaries will continue under SSA c)    Teachers will be transferred to other programs d)    New teachers will be recruited under SSA Q. 3 Which scheme provides for a Memorandum of Understanding with states to address teacher vacancies? a)    Operation Blackboard b)    National Programme for Nutritional Support for Primary Education c)    Mahila Samakhya d)    Strengthening of Teacher Education Q.4 What is the focus of the National Programme of Nutritional Support for Primary Education within the SSA framework? a)    Reducing school dropout rates b)    Improving student attendance and nutritional standards c)    Introducing digital learning tools d)    Expanding school infrastructure Q.5 How will the Mahila Samakhya program be integrated into the SSA framework? a)    It will be discontinued b)    It will be merged into a national scheme for higher education c)    It will retain its district identity but support SSA planning and implementation d)    It will focus exclusively on urban areas Q.6 What changes have been proposed for the Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE) under SSA? a)    The schemes will be completely eliminated b)    They will be integrated into SSA with revised approaches and additional support c)    They will only focus on higher education d)    They will be replaced by new schemes Q.7 What has been a significant achievement of the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)? a)    Establishing private schools b)    Decentralized planning and community involvement in enrollment c)    Reducing school infrastructure funding d)    Eliminating teacher vacancies through national recruitment Q.8 What role does the Lock Jumbish Project (LJP) play in the SSA framework? a)    It focuses on private school management b)    It will be implemented in 13 districts of Rajasthan and will be part of the SSA framework c)    It will replace the DPEP program d)    It will be limited to urban education projects Q.9 Which intervention within SSA involves community-based micro planning and school mapping? a)    Operation Blackboard b)    Mahila Samakhya c)    Lock Jumbish Project d)    National Programme for Nutritional Support for Primary Education Q.10 How will SSA handle the integration of the District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) districts? a)    They will be excluded from SSA b)    They will be included with a focus on vertical expansion and consolidation of primary schooling efforts c)    They will be replaced by new programs d)    They will only receive funding without additional support 16.5    SUMMARY The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan assigns greatest importance to the preparatory activities as these have been conceived as a necessary condition for quality implementation of the programme. Effective mobilization of the community and creation of an effective system of decentralized decision-making are part of the preparatory activities. A number of steps have already been taken in many states and it is expected that such of these State/UTs which have not decentralized powers to Village Education Committees/ Panchayats/ Urban local bodies, would do so as a part of the preparation for implementing Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. 16.6    GLOSSARY Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): A nationwide program in India aimed at the universalization of elementary education, focusing on improving the quality and accessibility of education through community involvement and decentralization. National Programme for Nutritional Support for Primary Education: Also known as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme, this program provides nutritional support to primary school children to improve attendance and nutritional standards. Mahila Samakhya: A program focused on the empowerment of women and girls, which supports their involvement in education management and enhances demand for girls’ education. It will integrate with SSA by supporting planning and implementation at the district level. Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS): A scheme aimed at providing education to children who are out-of-school through alternative and innovative methods. It includes initiatives like Education Guarantee Schools and Balika Shikshan Shivir. Alternative and Innovative Education (AIE): A component of SSA that includes flexible and creative approaches to education for children who are unable to attend regular schools, focusing on alternative schooling options and innovative educational practices. District Primary Education Programme (DPEP): A program aimed at improving primary education through decentralized planning, community involvement, and the establishment of resource centers. It will be integrated into SSA to continue efforts in improving primary schooling and expanding to upper primary education. Lock Jumbish Project (LJP): A project implemented in Rajasthan that focuses on community-based planning and school mapping, with specific interventions for girls’ education and modest improvements in enrollment and retention. 16.7    ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES SELF CHECK EXERCISE-1 Answer 1: b) To universalize elementary education through community ownership and involvement Answer 2: b) Increasing the duration of the school day Answer 3: d) 2010 Answer 4: c) Enhancing curriculum and child-centered activities Answer 5: c) Girls, SC/ST, and disadvantaged groups Answer 6: b) 85:15 Answer 7: b) Through community-based planning with habitation as a unit Answer 8: b) They are involved in capacity building, community activities, and advocacy Answer 9: b) Sustainable financing and community ownership of school-based interventions Answer 10: c) Recognizing the critical role of teachers and focusing on their professional development SELF CHECK EXERCISE-2 Answer 1: b) Improving physical infrastructure and expanding school space Answer 2: b) Teachers’ salaries will continue under SSA Answer 3: d) Strengthening of Teacher Education Answer 4: b) Improving student attendance and nutritional standards Answer 5: c) It will retain its district identity but support SSA planning and implementation Answer 6: b) They will be integrated into SSA with revised approaches and additional support Answer 7: b) Decentralized planning and community involvement in enrollment Answer 8: b) It will be implemented in 13 districts of Rajasthan and will be part of the SSA framework Answer 9: c) Lock Jumbish Project Answer 10: b) They will be included with a focus on vertical expansion and consolidation of primary schooling efforts 16.8    REFERENCES / SUGGESTED READINGS 1.    The Hindu News. 2 April 2010.* Selva, G. (22 March 2009). "Universal Education in India: A Century Of Unfulfilled Dreams". PRAGOTI. 2.    http://ssa.nic.in/ssa-framework/coverage-of-special-focus-groups 3.    http://ssa.nic.in/rte-1/RTE%203rrd%20year 17%20Jan%202014%20-%20for %20mail.pdf 4.    http://www.educationforallinindia.com/ssa.htm 5.    http://mhrd.gov.in/middaymeal 6.    http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/education/news/Education-index-shows-growing-northsouth- chasm/articleshow/26917930.cms?refer 16.9    TERMINAL QUESTIONS 1.    Discuss in detail the aims and objectives of SSA. 2.    Describe the benefits of SSA in our country. 3.    How will you evaluate the SSA programme? Unit-17 RASHTRIYA MADHYAMIK SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (RMSA) Structure: 17.1   Introduction 17.2   Learning Objectives 17.3  Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) Self Check Exercise-1 17.4    Goals and Objectives of RMSA Self Check Exercise-2 17.5    Constitutional Provisions Regarding RMSA Self Check Exercise-3 17.6    Summary 17.7    Glossary 17.8    Answers to Self Check Exercises 17.9    References/ Suggested readings 17.10    Terminal Questions 17.1    INTRODUCTION The Government of India has launched, in 2007, a centrally sponsored scheme, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA), for universalization of access to and improvement of quality at the secondary and higher secondary stage. Since education is a state subject by the constitution in the Indian federal system and state governments are policy and decision makers on this subject, RMSA is a crucial step to prepare the state governments to take up the goal of Universalization of Secondary Education in each state and union territory of the country. Unlike Universalization of Elementary Education, which is a constitutional mandate, Universalization of Secondary Education (USE) is not mandatory by Constitution but by morale and by need. This means that well-thought out and practically possible goals and strategies for implementation must emerge from the states and union territories. While at the national level, the vision, aims, goals and objectives of RMSA and the approach and strategy to achieve the goal of USE were already developed. 17.2    LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this unit the students will be able to know about: Vision, aims and objectives of RMSA at national level and state level. Concept and implementation of RTI Act, 2009. 17.3    RASHTRIYA MADHYAMIK SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (RMSA) The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) was launched in 2009 by the Government of India to address the critical need for improving secondary education. The historical development of RMSA can be traced back to various educational reforms post-independence, including the University Education Commission (1948-49), Secondary Education Commission (1952-53), and the National Policy on Education (1986), which emphasized the expansion and enhancement of secondary education. The successful implementation of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in 2000, which aimed to universalize elementary education, highlighted the need for a corresponding focus on secondary education. RMSA was designed to make quality secondary education available, accessible, and affordable to all young persons aged 14-18 years. It aimed to increase enrollment rates, reduce dropout rates, and ensure universal access by 2017 and retention by 2020, with special attention to marginalized groups. The scheme sought to strengthen the infrastructure of secondary schools by providing additional classrooms, science laboratories, libraries, and computer rooms, along with improving the overall learning environment through better teacher training, curriculum development, and inclusive education practices. The implementation of RMSA involved financial support to government and local body schools to meet prescribed norms and regulatory mechanisms for other schools to ensure compliance with quality standards. RMSA's vision at both national and state levels was to ensure that every young person receives quality education that prepares them to become global citizens with a broad intellectual, scientific, social, cultural, and humane outlook. Launch of RMSA 1.    Policy Framework and Objectives: •    RMSA was launched in 2009 with the vision to make secondary education of good quality available, accessible, and affordable to all young persons in the age group of 14-18 years. •    Key objectives included: o Increasing the enrollment rate in secondary education. o Reducing dropout rates. o Ensuring universal access to secondary education by 2017 and universal retention by 2020. o Addressing educational needs of marginalized groups, including economically weaker sections, educationally backward children, girls, and children with disabilities. 2.    Infrastructure and Quality Improvement: •    The program aimed to strengthen the infrastructure of secondary schools by providing additional classrooms, science laboratories, libraries, and computer rooms. •    Emphasized teacher training, curriculum development, and inclusive education practices to improve the overall learning environment. VISION AND AIMS OF RMSA AT NATIONAL LEVELAND STATE LEVEL National Level At the national level, the vision for secondary education is to make good quality education available, accessible and affordable to all young persons in the age group of 14-18years. With this vision in mind, the following aims are to be achieved: •    To provide a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation, which should be 5 Kms. for secondary schools (High School) and 7-10 Kms. for higher secondary schools (Intermediate); •    Ensure universal access of secondary education by 2017 (GER of 100%), and universal retention by 2020; and •    Providing access to secondary education with special reference to economically weaker sections of the society, the educationally backward, the girls and the disabled children residing in rural areas and other marginalized categories like SC, ST, OBC and Educationally Backward Minorities (EBM). State Level The State vision is on the same lines as the national vision. However, any state draws up its vision statement in the following words. “To ensure quality education that is available, accessible and affordable to every young person in the age group of 14-18 and prepares them to become global citizens with intellectual, scientific, social, cultural and humane outlook.” The specific aims set thereby to make this vision a reality are: •    To make all secondary schools conform to the prescribed norms regarding physical facilities, qualified staff and academic matters through financial support in case of government and local body schools, and appropriate regulatory mechanism in the case of other schools; •    To provide for access with equity in terms of gender, socio-economic status, CWSN and other marginalized groups, and good quality for all the secondary school aged population. SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-1 Q.1 What year was the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) launched? A. 2005 B. 2007 C. 2009 D. 2011 Q.2 What is the primary age group targeted by RMSA? A.    6-10 years B.    10-14 years C.    14-18 years D.    18-22 years Q.3 Which of the following is NOT a focus area of RMSA? A.    Increasing enrollment rates B.    Reducing dropout rates C.    Ensuring equitable access to education D.    Providing scholarships for higher education Q.4 What is the goal for the Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) in secondary education by 2017 under RMSA? A.    85% B.    90% C.    95% D.    100% Q.5 By what year does RMSA aim to achieve universal retention in secondary education? A. 2017 B.    2018 C. 2019 D. 2020 Q.6 What is the maximum distance a secondary school should be from any habitation as per RMSA norms? A.    3 km B.    5 km C.    7 km D.    10 km Q.7 Which groups are given special reference for providing access to secondary education under RMSA? A.    Economically weaker sections B.    Educationally backward children C. Girls and disabled children D. All of the above Q.8 At the state level, the vision of RMSA includes ensuring education prepares students to become global citizens with what outlook? A. Intellectual and scientific B.    Social and cultural C. Humane D. All of the above Q.9 Which of the following is a component of RMSA aimed at improving the learning environment? A.    Building more classrooms B.    Teacher training C.    Inclusive education practices D.    All of the above Q.10 What kind of support is provided to government and local body schools under RMSA to conform to prescribed norms? A.    Financial support B.    Regulatory mechanisms C.    Private partnerships D.    None of the above 17.4 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF RMSA At National Level The national policy document of RMSA has drawn up the following specific goals and objectives i)    To ensure that all secondary schools have physical facilities, staff and supplies at least according to the prescribed standards through financial support in case of Government/ Local Body and Government aided schools, and appropriate regulatory mechanism in the case of other schools; ii)    To improve access to secondary schooling to all young person’s according to norms – through proximate location (say, Secondary Schools within 5 kms, and Higher Secondary Schools within 7-10 kms.), efficient and safe transport arrangements/residential facilities, depending on local circumstances including open schooling. However, in hilly and difficult areas, these norms can be relaxed. Preferably residential schools may be set up in such areas; iii)    To ensure that no child is deprived of secondary education of satisfactory quality due to gender, socio-economic, disability and other barriers; iv)    To improve quality of secondary education resulting in enhanced intellectual, social and cultural learning; v)    To ensure that all students pursuing secondary education receive education of good quality; and vi)    Achievement of the above objectives would also, inter-alia, signify substantial progress in the direction of the Common School System. At State Level The state abides by these broad national goals and objectives, and specifically adds on certain key qualitative objectives that would guide its progress towards meeting its vision and goal. They are: •    To equip and empower professional competence of the heads and teachers for school effectiveness and classroom processes; •    To provide opportunity to secondary level students to compare, collaborate, compete and contribute to the world at large; and •    To develop life-skills of students, and enhance overall quality of life. •    The RMSA goals that the State has envisaged are: •    All secondary school age children are in schools by 2013, •    All secondary school age children are in secondary classes appropriate to their age by 2017, and •    All higher secondary age children will complete secondary school by 2020. IMPLEMENTATION AND PROGRESS 1.    National and State-Level Vision: •    At the national level, the vision was to provide secondary schools within a reasonable distance of any habitation (5 km for secondary schools and 7-10 km for higher secondary schools). •    At the state level, each state formulated its vision to ensure quality education accessible to every young person, preparing them to become global citizens with intellectual, scientific, social, cultural, and humane outlook. 2.    Financial Support and Regulatory Mechanisms: •    Government and local body schools received financial support to conform to prescribed norms regarding physical facilities, qualified staff, and academic matters. •    Appropriate regulatory mechanisms were established for other schools to ensure compliance with standards. 3.    Inclusive Education and Equity: • RMSA focused on providing equitable access to secondary education for all, including gender equity and support for socio-economic disadvantaged groups, children with special needs, and other marginalized groups. SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-2 Q.1 By what year did RMSA aim to have all secondary school-age children in schools? A. 2010 B. 2013 C. 2015 D. 2017 Q.2 Which of the following objectives pertains to the state-level goals of RMSA? A.    Providing financial support to government and local body schools. B.    Ensuring that all higher secondary age children will complete secondary school by 2020. C.    Setting up residential schools in hilly and difficult areas. D.    Improving the quality of secondary education resulting in enhanced intellectual, social, and cultural learning. Q.3 Which of the following measures is included in RMSA to improve the quality of secondary education? A.    Reducing the number of secondary schools. B.    Enhancing intellectual, social, and cultural learning. C.    Limiting access to secondary education to urban areas. D.    Providing scholarships for higher education. Q.4 Which of the following is a key qualitative objective added by states under RMSA? A.    Reducing the number of teachers. B.    Equipping and empowering professional competence of heads and teachers for school effectiveness. C.    Limiting the curriculum to traditional subjects only. D.    Reducing financial support for secondary schools. Q.5 What is one of the goals of RMSA regarding the Common School System? A. To standardize school uniforms. B.    To achieve substantial progress towards the Common School System. C.    To reduce the number of secondary schools. D.    To limit secondary education to urban areas only. Q.6 What mechanism does RMSA employ to ensure compliance with standards in schools? A.    Financial support only. B.    Appropriate regulatory mechanisms for all schools. C.    Scholarships for students. D.    Reducing the number of secondary schools. 17 .5 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING RMSA The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is aligned with various constitutional provisions in India that emphasize the right to education and the state's duty to provide access to quality education for all citizens. Here are the key constitutional provisions related to RMSA: Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles 1.    Article 21A - Right to Education: • The 86th Amendment to the Constitution in 2002 inserted Article 21A, which makes education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14 years. While this directly pertains to elementary education, it creates a foundational context that emphasizes the importance of continued education beyond this age group. 2.    Article 45 - Provision for Early Childhood Care and Education to Children Below the Age of Six Years: • This article, part of the Directive Principles of State Policy, originally aimed at providing free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years. Post the 86th Amendment, it focuses on early childhood care, indirectly supporting the importance of a continuum in education. 3.    Article 46 - Promotion of Educational and Economic Interests of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Weaker Sections: • This article mandates the state to promote, with special care, the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, particularly the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, and to protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. National and State Responsibility 4.    Article 41 - Right to Work, to Education, and to Public Assistance in Certain Cases: • This Directive Principle enjoins the state to make effective provisions for securing the right to work, education, and public assistance within the limits of its economic capacity and development. 5.    Article 30 - Right of Minorities to Establish and Administer Educational Institutions: • This article provides linguistic and religious minorities the right to establish and administer educational institutions of their choice, promoting diversity and inclusivity in the education system. Policies and Implementation Mechanisms 6.    National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 and its Revised Programme of Action (PoA) 1992: • Though not a constitutional provision per se, the NPE 1986, and its revised PoA in 1992, laid down the policy framework that underpins initiatives like RMSA. These policies stress the importance of universal access to education and the improvement of educational quality at all levels. 7.    Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009: • While this Act focuses on children aged 6 to 14 years, it sets the stage for RMSA by ensuring that children complete elementary education and are prepared for secondary education. Governance and Regulation 8.    Article 246 - Subject Matter of Laws Made by Parliament and by the Legislatures of States: • Education is a concurrent subject under the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution, meaning both the central and state governments can legislate on it. This allows for coordinated efforts in implementing programs like RMSA across the country. 9.    Article 275 - Grants from the Union to Certain States: • Provides for grants-in-aid from the central government to the states for promoting the welfare of Scheduled Tribes and for raising the level of administration of the Scheduled Areas, which includes educational initiatives like RMSA. SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-3 Q.1 Which constitutional amendment inserted Article 21A, making education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14 years? A.    42nd Amendment B.    44th Amendment C.    86th Amendment D.    91st Amendment Q.2 Article 21A of the Indian Constitution pertains to which of the following? A.    Right to Work B.    Right to Education C.    Right to Public Assistance D.    Right to Free Speech Q.3 What is the focus of Article 45 of the Indian Constitution after the 86th Amendment? A. Providing free and compulsory education until the age of 14 years B. Early childhood care and education for children below the age of six years C. Promotion of educational and economic interests of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes D. Establishment and administration of educational institutions by minorities Q.4 Which article of the Indian Constitution enjoins the state to make effective provisions for securing the right to work, education, and public assistance within its economic capacity? A.    Article 30 B.    Article 41 C.    Article 45 D.    Article 21A Q.5 Which of the following is NOT a constitutional provision but laid down the policy framework underpinning initiatives like RMSA? A.    Article 21A B.    National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 C.    Article 41 D.    Article 30 Q. 6Under which article of the Indian Constitution is education listed as a concurrent subject, allowing both the central and state governments to legislate on it? A.    Article 246 B.    Article 275 C.    Article 21A D.    Article 41 17.6    SUMMARY RMSA is planned to promote secondary education by establishing in every target school the following infrastructure. 1.    Additional class rooms 2.    Laboratories 3.    Libraries 4.    Art and crafts room 5.    Toilet blocks 6.    Drinking water provisions 7.    Residential hostels for teachers in remote areas In addition it aims to provide additional teachers to reduce student-teacher to 30:1, focus on science, mathematics and English education, in-service training of teachers, science laboratories, ICT-enabled education, curriculum reforms, and teaching-learning reforms. 17.7    GLOSSARY Gender Equity: Ensuring that both boys and girls have equal access to and opportunities in secondary education. Inclusive Education: An approach that ensures all students, including those with disabilities and from marginalized groups, have access to quality education. Proximate Location: The concept of having secondary schools located within a reasonable distance from students' homes to facilitate easy access. Vision: The long-term goal of RMSA to make quality secondary education available, accessible, and affordable to all young persons in the age group of 14-18 years. 17.8    ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES SELF CHECK EXERCISE-1 Answer 1: C. 2009 Answer 2: C. 14-18 years Answer 3: D. Providing scholarships for higher education Answer 4: D. 100% Answer 5: D. 2020 Answer 6: B. 5 km Answer 7: D. All of the above Answer 8: D. All of the above Answer 9: D. All of the above Answer 10: A. Financial support SELF CHECK EXERCISE-2 Answer 1: B. 2013 Answer 2: B. Ensuring that all higher secondary age children will complete secondary school by 2020. Answer 3: B. Enhancing intellectual, social, and cultural learning. Answer 4: B. Equipping and empowering professional competence of heads and teachers for school effectiveness. Answer 5: B. To achieve substantial progress towards the Common School System. Answer 6: B. Appropriate regulatory mechanisms for all schools. SELF CHECK EXERCISE-3 Answer 1: C. 86th Amendment Answer 2: B. Right to Education Answer 3: B. Early childhood care and education for children below the age of six years Answer 4: B. Article 41 Answer 5: B. National Policy on Education (NPE) 1986 Answer 6: A. Article 246 17.9    REFERENCES/ SUGGESTED READINGS 1.    ab"Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan". EdCIL (India) Limited. Retrieved 2 February 2014. 2.    "Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan". Indian Yojana. Retrieved 2 February 2014. 3.    Provisions of the Constitution of India having a bearing on Education". Department of Higher Education. Retrieved 1 April 2010. 4.    Aarti Dhar (1 April 2010). "Education is a fundamental right now". The Hindu. BBC News. 1 April 2010. 17.10    TERMINAL QUESTIONS 1.    Discuss the RMSA Programme with its critical evaluation. 2.    What are the salient features of RTE Act-2009? How can you say that it is very useful for the upliftment educational system in India? Unit-18 RIGHT TO EDUCATION (RTE) ACT, 2009 Structure: 18.1    Introduction 18.2    Learning objectives 18.3    International legal basis and Assessment of Fulfilment Self- check Exercise-1 18.4    Right to Education: Historical Development and Implementation Self- check Exercise-2 18.5    Constitutional Provisions Regarding Right to Education in India Self- check Exercise-3 18.6    Issues, Challenges and Problems in Implementing the RTE Act Self- check Exercise-4 18.7    Summary 18.8    Glossary 18.9    Answers to self- check Exercises 18.10    References / Suggested Readings 18.11    Terminal Questions 18.1    INTRODUCTION The right to education is a universal entitlement to education. This is recognized in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as a human right that includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to develop secondary education accessible to all, in particular by the progressive introduction of free secondary education, as well as an obligation to develop equitable access to higher education, ideally by the progressive introduction of free higher education. The right to education also includes a responsibility to provide basic education for individuals who have not completed primary education. In addition to these access to education provisions, the right to education encompasses the obligation to rule out discrimination at all levels of the educational system, to set minimum standards and to improve the quality of education. 18.2    LEARNING OBJECTIVES After going through this unit, learners will be able to: 1.      Describe Historical background of Right to Education. 2.      Enlist the provision for Right to Education. 3.      Explain challenges in implementing the RTE Act. 18.3    INTERNATIONAL LEGAL BASIS AND ASSESSMENT OF FULFILMENT INTERNATIONAL LEGAL BASIS The right to education is reflected in international law in Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Articles 13 and 14 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The right to education has been reaffirmed in the 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education, the 1981 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and the 2006 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities In Europe, Article 2 of the first Protocol of 20 March 1952 to the European Convention on Human Rights states that the right to education is recognized as a human right and is understood to establish an entitlement to education. According to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the right to education includes the right to free, compulsory primary education for all, an obligation to develop secondary education accessible to all in particular by the progressive introduction of free secondary education, as well as an obligation to develop equitable access to higher education in particular by the progressive introduction of free higher education. The right to education also includes a responsibility to provide basic education for individuals who have not completed primary education. In addition to these access to education provisions, the right to education encompasses also the obligation to eliminate discrimination at all levels of the educational system, to set minimum standards and to improve quality. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg has applied this norm for example in the Belgian linguistic case. Article 10 of the European Social Charter guarantees the right to vocational education DEFINITION Education narrowly refers to formal institutional instructions. Generally, international instruments use the term in this sense and the right to education, as protected by international human rights instruments, refers primarily to education in a narrow sense. The 1960 UNESCO Convention against Discrimination in Education defines education in Article 1(2) as: "all types and levels of education, (including) access to education, the standard and quality of education, and the conditions under which it is given." In a wider sense education may describe "all activities by which a human group transmits to its descendants a body of knowledge and skills and a moral code which enable the group to subsist". In this sense education refers to the transmission to a subsequent generation of those skills needed to perform tasks of daily living, and further passing on the social, cultural, spiritual and philosophical values of the particular community. The wider meaning of education has been recognised in Article 1(a) of UNESCO's 1974 Recommendation concerning Education for International Understanding, Co-operation and Peace and Education relating to Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The article states that education implies: "the entire process of social life by means of which individuals and social groups learn to develop consciously within, and for the benefit of, the national and international communities, the whole of their personal capabilities, attitudes, aptitudes and knowledge." The European Court of Human Rights has defined education in a narrow sense as "teaching or instructions... in particular to the transmission of knowledge and to intellectual development" and in a wider sense as "the whole process whereby, in any society, adults endeavour to transmit their beliefs, culture and other values to the young." ASSESSMENT OF FULFILMENT The fulfilment of the right to education can be assessed using the 4 As framework, which asserts that for education to be a meaningful right it must be available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable. The 4 As framework was developed by the former UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, Katarina Tomasevski, but is not necessarily the standard used in every international human rights instrument and hence not a generic guide to how the right to education is treated under national law. The 4 As framework proposes that governments, as the prime duty-bearers, have to respect, protect and fulfil the right to education by making education available, accessible, acceptable and adaptable. The framework also places duties on other stakeholders in the education process: the child, which as the privileged subject of the right to education has the duty to comply with compulsory education requirements, the parents as the ‘first educators’, and professional educators, namely teachers. The 4 As have been further elaborated as follows: •    Availability – funded by governments, education is universal, free and compulsory. There should be proper infrastructure and facilities in place with adequate books and materials for students. Buildings should meet both safety and sanitation standards, such as having clean drinking water. Active recruitment, proper training and appropriate retention methods should ensure that enough qualified staff is available at each school. •    Accessibility – all children should have equal access to school services, regardless of gender, race, religion, ethnicity or socio-economic status. Efforts should be made to ensure the inclusion of marginalized groups including children of refugees, the homeless or those with disabilities in short there should be universal access to education i.e. access to all. There should be no forms of segregation or denial of access to any students. This includes ensuring that proper laws are in place against any child labour or exploitation to prevent children from obtaining primary or secondary education. Schools must be within a reasonable distance for children within the community, otherwise transportation should be provided to students, particularly those that might live in rural areas, to ensure ways to school are safe and convenient. Education should be affordable to all, with textbooks, supplies and uniforms provided to students at no additional costs. •     Acceptability – the quality of education provided should be free of discrimination, relevant and culturally appropriate for all students. Students should not be expected to conform to any specific religious or ideological views. Methods of teaching should be objective and unbiased and material available should reflect a wide array of ideas and beliefs. Health and safety should be emphasized within schools including the elimination of any forms of corporal punishment. Professionalism of staff and teachers should be maintained. •     Adaptability – educational programs should be flexible and able to adjust according to societal changes and the needs of the community. Observance of religious or cultural holidays should be respected by schools in order to accommodate students, along with providing adequate care to those students with disabilities. A number of international NGOs and charities work to realise the right to education using a rights-based approach to development. SELF- CHECK EXERCISE-1 Q1. Which international document declares that everyone has the right to education and that elementary education should be compulsory and free? a)    International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) b)    Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) c)    Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) d)    Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Q2. What does Article 13 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) emphasize about education? a)    Education should be free and compulsory at all levels. b)    Education should promote the full development of human personality and respect for human rights. c)    Education should be limited to primary levels. d)    Education should be regulated by private institutions only. Q3. Which article of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) emphasizes the right to free and compulsory primary education? a)    Article 12 b)    Article 20 c)    Article 28 d)    Article 35 Q4. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) focuses on which aspect of education? a)    Ensuring free higher education for women b)    Eliminating discrimination against women in education c)    Restricting education to gender-specific roles d)    Promoting education only in rural areas Q5. Article 24 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) emphasizes the right to education for persons with disabilities by promoting: a)    Separate educational institutions b)    Inclusive education and equal access c)    Limited educational opportunities d)    Higher education only for persons with disabilities Q6. What is a key challenge in assessing the fulfilment of the right to education? a)    Ensuring educational institutions are privately managed b)    Monitoring and evaluating the quality of education c)    Restricting access to higher education d)    Limiting funding for educational infrastructure 18.4        RIGHT TO EDUCATION: HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT: In Europe, before the Enlightenment of the eighteenth and nineteenth century, education was the responsibility of parents and the church. With the French and American Revolution education was established also as a public function. It was thought that the state, by assuming a more active role in the sphere of education, could help to make education available and accessible to all. Education had thus far been primarily available to the upper social classes and public education was perceived as a means of realising the egalitarian ideals underlining both revolutions. However, neither the American Declaration of Independence (1776) nor the French Declaration of the Rights of Man (1789) protected the right to education as the liberal concepts of human rights in the nineteenth century envisaged that parents retained the primary duty for providing education to their children. It was the states obligation to ensure that parents complied with this duty, and many states enacted legislation making school attendance compulsory. Furthermore, child labour laws were enacted to limit the number of hours per day children could be employed, to ensure children would attend school. States also became involved in the legal regulation of curricula and established minimum educational standards. In on Liberty John Stuart Mill wrote that an "education established and controlled by the State should only exist, if it exists at all, as one among many competing experiments, carried on for the purpose of example and stimulus to keep the others up to a certain standard of excellence." Liberal thinkers of the nineteenth century pointed to the dangers to too much state involvement in the sphere of education, but relied on state intervention to reduce the dominance of the church, and to protect the right to education of children against their own parents. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, educational rights were included in domestic bills of rights. The 1849 Paulskirchenverfassung, the constitution of the German Empire, strongly influenced subsequent European constitutions and devoted Article 152 to 158 of its bill of rights to education. The constitution recognised education as a function of the state, independent of the church. Remarkable at the time, the constitution proclaimed the right to free education for the poor, but the constitution did not explicitly require the state to set up educational institutions. Instead the constitution protected the rights of citizens to found and operate schools and to provide home education. The constitution also provided for freedom of science and teaching, and it guaranteed the right of everybody to choose a vocation and train for it. The nineteenth century also saw the development of socialist theory, which held that the primary task of the state was to ensure the economic and social well-being of the community through government intervention and regulation. Socialist theory recognised that individuals had claims to basic welfare services against the state and education was viewed as one of these welfare entitlements. This was in contrast to liberal theory at the time, which regarded non-state actors as the prime providers of education. Socialist ideals were enshrined in the 1936 Soviet Constitution, which was the first constitution to recognise the right to education with a corresponding obligation of the state to provide such education. The constitution guaranteed free and compulsory education at all levels, a system of state scholarships and vocational training in state enterprises. Subsequently the right to education featured strongly in the constitutions of socialist states. As a political goal, right to education was declared in F. D. Roosevelt's 1944 speech on the Second Bill of Rights. IMPLEMENTATION International law does not protect the right to pre-primary education and international documents generally omit references to education at this level. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to education, hence the right applies to all individuals, although children are considered as the main beneficiaries. The rights to education are separated into three levels: •    Primary (Elemental or Fundamental) Education. This shall be compulsory and free for any child regardless of their nationality, gender, place of birth, or any other discrimination. Upon ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights States must provide free primary education within two years. •    Secondary (or Elementary, Technical and Professional in the UDHR) Education must be generally available and accessible. •    Higher Education (at the University Level) should be provided according to capacity. That is, anyone who meets the necessary education standards should be able to go to university. Both secondary and higher education shall be made accessible "by every appropriate means, and in particular by the progressive introduction of free education". Compulsory education The realisation of the right to education on a national level may be achieved through compulsory education, or more specifically free compulsory primary education, as stated in both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. RIGHT OF CHILDREN TO FREE AND COMPULSORY EDUCATION ACT The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act or Right to Education Act (RTE), is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted on 4 August 2009, which describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21A of the Indian Constitution. India became one of 135 countries to make education a fundamental right of every child when the act came into force on 1 April 2010. HISTORY: Present Act has its history in the drafting of the Indian constitution at the time of Independence but is more specifically to the Constitutional Amendment of 2002 that included the Article 21A in the Indian constitution making Education a fundamental Right. This amendment, however, specified the need for a legislation to describe the mode of implementation of the same which necessitated the drafting of a separate Education Bill. A rough draft of the bill was composed in year 2005. It received much opposition due to its mandatory provision to provide 25% reservation for disadvantaged children in private schools. The sub-committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education which prepared the draft Bill held this provision as a significant prerequisite for creating a democratic and egalitarian society. Indian Law commission had initially proposed 50% reservation for disadvantaged students in private schools. The RTE Act provides for the: Right of children to free and compulsory education till completion of elementary education in a neighbourhood school. It clarifies that ‘compulsory education’ means obligation of the appropriate government to provide free elementary education and ensure compulsory admission, attendance and completion of elementary education to every child in the six to fourteen age group. ‘Free’ means that no child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. It makes provisions for a non-admitted child to be admitted to an age appropriate class. It specifies the duties and responsibilities of appropriate Governments, local authority and parents in providing free and compulsory education, and sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments. It lays down the norms and standards relating inter alia to Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs), buildings and infrastructure, schoolworking days, teacher-working hours. It provides for rational deployment of teachers by ensuring that the specified pupil teacher ratio is maintained for each school, rather than just as an average for the State or District or Block, thus ensuring that there is no urban-rural imbalance in teacher postings. It also provides for prohibition of deployment of teachers for non-educational work, other than decennial census, elections to local authority, state legislatures and parliament, and disaster relief. It provides for appointment of appropriately trained teachers, i.e. teachers with the requisite entry and academic qualifications. It prohibits (a) physical punishment and mental harassment; (b) screening procedures for admission of children; (c) capitation fee; (d) private tuition by teachers and (e) running of schools without recognition, It provides for development of curriculum in consonance with the values enshrined in the Constitution, and which would ensure the all-round development of the child, building on the child’s knowledge, potentiality and talent and making the child free of fear, trauma and anxiety through a system of child friendly and child centred learning. The Act makes education a fundamental right of every child between the ages of 6 and 14 and specifies minimum norms in elementary schools. It requires all private schools (except the minority institutions) to reserve 25% of seats for the poor and other categories of children (to be reimbursed by the state as part of the public-private partnership plan). Children are admitted in to private schools based on caste-based reservations. It also prohibits all unrecognized schools from practice, and makes provisions for no donation or capitation fees and no interview of the child or parent for admission. The Act also provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board examination until the completion of elementary education. There is also a provision for special training of school drop-outs to bring them up to par with students of the same age. The RTE act requires surveys that will monitor all neighbourhoods, identify children requiring education, and set up facilities for providing it. The World Bank education specialist for India, Sam Carlson, has observed: “The RTE Act is the first legislation in the world that puts the responsibility of ensuring enrolment, attendance and completion on the Government. It is the parents' responsibility to send the children to schools in the US and other countries”. The Right to Education of persons with disabilities until 18 years of age is laid down under a separate legislation- the Persons with Disabilities Act. A number of other provisions regarding improvement of school infrastructure, teacher-student ratio and faculty are made in the Act. HISTORY OF RIGHT TO EDUCATION/TIMELINE OF IMPORTANT EVENTS: 1950: Constitution of India contained Article 45, as one of the directive principles of State policy, which states that: "The State shall endeavor 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." 1968: First National Commission for education under Dr. Kothari submits its reports. It introduced several far-reaching changes as uniform curriculum for both boys and girls, mathematics and science as compulsory subjects etc. It also proposed a Common School System. 1976: Constitution amendment making education a concurrent subject (responsibility of both state and center) was passed. 1986: National policy on Education (NPE) endorsing Common School System (CSS) was formulated. Subsequent NPE’s endorsed CSS but it has never been implemented. 1993: The Supreme court in the case Unnikrishnan vs State of Andhra Pradeshruled that the right to education is a fundamental right that flows from the Right to life in Article 21 of the Constitution. 1997: Constitution Amendment making Education a fundamental right was introduced. 2002: 86th Constitution Amendment added Article 21A stating that “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age six to fourteen years in such as a way as the State may, by law, determine.” The 86th Amendment also modified Article 45 which reads as “The state shall endeavor to provide early childhood care and education for all children until they complete the age of 6 years”. 2005: CABE committee report constituted to draft the Right to Education Bill submits its report. July 2006: Media reports indicate that federal government is planning to ask all state governments to pass Right to Education bill in their respective legislatures based on a model bill drafted by federal Government. It has shelved plans to introduce a federal bill in this regard. MAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT: -Every child between the ages of six to fourteen years shall have the right to free and compulsory education in a neighbourhood school, till completion of elementary education - External website that opens in a new window. -No child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. -Where a child above six years of age has not been admitted to any school or though admitted, could not complete his or her elementary education, then, he or she shall be admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age. -The appropriate government and local authority shall establish a school, if it is not established, within the given area in a period of three years from the commencement of this Act.The Central and the State Governments shall have concurrent responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of this Act. -As per the provision of the Act, the Central Government has authorised the National Council of Educational Research & Training (NCERT) - External website that opens in a new window as the academic authority to lay down the curriculum and evaluation procedure for elementary education and develop a framework of national curriculum. This Act is an essential step towards improving each child's accessibility to secondary - External website that opens in a new window and higher education -External website that opens in a new window. The Act also contains specific provisions for disadvantaged groups, such as child labourers, migrant children, children with special needs, or those who have a disadvantage owing to social, cultural, economic, geographical, linguistic, gender or any such factor. SELF- CHECK EXERCISE-2 Q.1 which of the following is NOT typically a factor in assessing the fulfillment of the right to education? a)    Access and enrolment rates b)    Quality of education c)    Administrative and bureaucratic efficiency d)    Age of students Q. 2 In which year was the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) enacted in India? a)    2000 b)    2005 c)    2009 d)    2015 18.5 CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING RIGHT TO EDUCATION IN INDIA: The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act seeks to provide education to children aged between 6 to 14 years. This is stated as per the 86th Constitution Amendment Act added Article 21 A. The Act, one of the flagship programmes in the 100-day agenda of the UPA government, also earmarks 25 per cent seats to weaker sections in private schools. The Right to Education: The right to education is recognised as a human right by the United Nations and is understood to establish an entitlement to free, compulsory primary education for all children, an obligation to develop secondary education accessible to all children, as well as equitable access to higher education, and a responsibility to provide basic education for individuals who have not completed primary education. In addition to this access to education provisions, the right to education encompasses also the obligation to eliminate discrimination at all levels of the educational system, to set minimum standards and to improve the quality of education. Right to Education in India and Constitutional Provisions: The Right to Education is not a Fundamental Right in India but ‘The Right of Children to free and Compulsory Education Act’ is an effort to include this right in the Constitution as a fundamental one. It will support the Fundamental Right of the children from age 6 to 14 years under article 21A of the Constitution to get free elementary education and the eleventh Fundamental Duty under Article 51A that were introduced by the 86th Constitution (Amendment) Act, 2002, along with Article 45 under the category of Directive Principles of the State Policy. The Act seeks to make access to education more equitable. Vetting of students and parents, and demands for arbitrary capitation fees to secure admission to public schools will be proscribed under the legislation which obliges private schools to make a quarter of their places available to disadvantaged children on a non-feepaying basis. It mandates school management committees to take charge of neighbourhood schools. It also speaks of a common board that will do away with the differential educational standards in the country. Relevance of the Right in Indian Context: For those households with incomes below the official poverty line, the only hope for a future lies in education and resultant empowerment. According to the Government’s own data, such households account for 27.5 per cent of India’s one billion-plus population. Independent research and CRY’s own experience shows that the number of poor in India is closer to 70 per cent – those for whom day-to- day incomes barely cover living expenses. For this majority of Indians, the Constitutional Amendment in 2001 came with the promise that this liberal democracy will actually assume responsibility for all its citizens. Some Important Facts and Figures: Latest government estimates show 70 million children are out of school. This category largely comes from India’s poorest – those who cannot and should not be forced to pay for schooling. Estimates show that the private education sector is valued at $40 billion (Rs 160,000 crore) in India. The HRD Ministry needs to get Section 25 of the Companies Act amended for this. The world’s most developed economies, such as the US, the UK and France allocate 6-7 per cent of their national budgets on public education and health. India by contrast, allocates just 3 per cent for education and around 1 per cent for health. When we made education a Constitutional right, at par with the right to life, it hardly befitted the spirit of the Constitution to take such a minimalist approach to child rights. The 2009-2010 Budget ratifies the minimalist approach, by not increasing the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan allocation (it remains, as in the previous year, at Rs 13,100 crore). To make any real impact on children’s lives, the country needs to spend at least 10 per cent of GDP on school education and health. Currently, the spending on schooling is 1.28 per cent (the total government outlay is 3.3 per cent) of GDP. CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF THE ACT: The Act that makes this Constitutional right legal is conspicuously silent on increasing the State outlay for Government schooling. Instead, it shifts the responsibility of ‘poor students’ to private schools (the 25 per cent reservation clause), which have in the past raised objections to such a proposal. Instead of the equitable education based on mutual dignity that the Amendment envisaged, such a provision shuts out the poor as a class and further deepens class barriers. In addition, following on the lines of the Constitutional Amendment, the Act limits its ambit to children between the ages of 6 and 14. Education up to Class 8th is hardly enough either to equip a child with the basic skills needed for gainful employment or even to make an individual equipped to function with a basic degree of self- reliance and empowerment. After all, this is the right to education Act and not the right to literacy and numeracy alone. By limiting free education between Classes 1 and 8, we are offering low educational standards to all children, a decision that impacts the poorest badly. This selection of the 6-14 age groups is arbitrary and actively countermands the country’s promise to its children, of making education available, accessible and acceptable. SELF- CHECK EXERCISE-3 Q1. Which article of the Indian Constitution was amended by the 86th Amendment Act of 2002 to include the right to free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 years? a)    Article 21 b)    Article 45 c)    Article 21A d)    Article 29 Q2. What does Article 45 of the Indian Constitution focus on after the 86th Amendment Act of 2002? a)    Free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 years b)    Early childhood care and education for children below six years c)    Promotion of educational and economic interests of SCs and STs d)    Prohibition of discrimination in public employment Q3. Which article prohibits discrimination by the State on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex, or place of birth and allows for special provisions for the advancement of backward classes? a)    Article 15 b)    Article 16 c)    Article 29 d)    Article 21A Q4. Article 29 of the Indian Constitution provides protection for which of the following? a)    Equality of opportunity in public employment b)    Free and compulsory education for children c)    The cultural and educational rights of minorities d)    Early childhood care and education Q5. Which article guarantees that no minority shall be denied admission to any educational institution maintained by the State on grounds of religion, race, caste, or language? a)    Article 21A b)    Article 45 c)    Article 15 d)    Article 29 1 8.6 ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING THE RTE ACT Out-of-school children According to the 2001 census, 8.5 crore children are out of school in India. However, latest figures from the Human Resource Development Ministry put the number at 80 lakhs. This disparity is because the government has been trying to divide the children into two sections. According to the National Crime Records Bureau, every year around 65,000 children fall victim to trafficking. Only 10% of such cases are registered with the police. Officially, therefore, only 6,500 children are trafficking victims. Besides this, around 1.20 crore children are involved in child labour (2001 census), keeping them out of school. One of the sections into which the government has tried to divide out-of-school children is those who have never enrolled in school. But here the question arises: if these children have never been enrolled in school how have they been counted? By which agency? And what was the methodology adopted? The second section includes children who have dropped out of school. Children who do not attend school for three months are considered to have dropped out. In some states the period is 15 days; in others it’s one month. Taking these two sections together, the total number of out-of-school children is around 80 lakhs. Nevertheless, the disparity between the figures of the two departments -- a drop from around 8 crores to 80 lakh -- is nothing short of magic! And even if the 80-lakh figure is correct, it’s still a huge number and the children are not out of school because of choice. To believe that the RTE Act will magically put all such kids into classrooms would be naïve. Some states have claimed that there has been a jump of 120% in school admissions. This has to be taken with a pinch of salt. The 2011 census will make the picture clearer. A recent survey under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme in Rajasthan found that 12 lakh children were out of school. Of these, 7.13 lakh children were girls and the rest were boys. Other states must carry out similar studies. Coordination between various implementing agencies Every other day we see children working at roadside restaurants, in people’s homes, on the roads and in tea stalls. To pick these children up and put them in school is hardly as easy as it sounds. To begin with, rescue of child labourers and punishing the employer is the work of the Labour Ministry and the police. The responsibility of bringing children to schools and providing them quality education is the work of the Human Resource Development Ministry. Then again, monitoring implementation of the RTE Act is the responsibility of the child rights commissions in each state, which are under the Women and Child Development Department. As of now, not all states have even notified the RTE rules. It is crucial therefore that the efforts of all these agencies are coordinated for the larger goal of providing education to all children to become a reality. Various kinds of schools It’s a strange irony that while on the one hand the government wants to provide quality education to all children, across all barriers, on the other hand it recognises four kinds of schools under the Right to Education Act. •     Government schools. •     Government-aided schools. •     Special schools recognised by the government such as kendriya vidyalayas, navodaya vidyalaya and sainik schools. There are others at the state level too. •      Private schools. With such a variety of schools, it is only natural that quality of education varies. Once again it boils down to the rich being able to afford better quality education and the poor having to compromise with something inferior. So what is the need of the day? For quality education to truly reach every child in the country, it is necessary that the following steps are taken: •      Each state should prepare a set of model rules for implementation of the right to education, with the participation of the community and other stakeholders. •     Although the RTE Act puts the applicable age-group at 6-14, it has been left to the states to decide whether they want to widen this group, say from 0-18 as Kerala has done. States should think about including more children under the Act’s ambit. •     With the Act coming into effect, it has been found that there is a shortage of 12 13    lakh teachers in schools. The states must take steps to employ more teachers and not rely on para-teachers to provide children with quality education. •     The government should ensure that all government schools are well-equipped to take in students, so that they are not left with the sole choice of going to private schools. •     School management committees should take it upon themselves to spread awareness about the Act at the community level, in panchayats, so that people are encouraged to send their children to school. •     School management committees should be provided the necessary financial and other support by the state to go about their duties. •     For effective implementation of the RTE Act, states should give some sort of judicial power to the education department. •     The public private partnership (PPP) model in primary education should be avoided at all costs so that there is no commercialisation of education. •      There is a conflict between the child labour law and the Right to Education Act, although both deal with related issues and promote the overall development of children. It is important to bring them in step, to avoid confusion. •     To effectively implement the RTE Act, the Human Resource Development Ministry, Labour Ministry, Women and Child Development Ministry, Panchayati Raj Ministry and Rural Development Ministry have to work together. There should be an umbrella body that brings all these agencies together to work towards a common goal. •    The government must make every effort to become self-sufficient by using the education cess and other taxes to effectively implement the RTE Act. It must not always beg from the private sector. ISSUES AND PROBLEMS IN IMPLEMENTATION OF RTE: No doubt the RTE have far reaching consequences for implementing the mission of free and compulsory elementary education. This task, however, is not much easy as it appears. Because, the prevailing harsh socio-cultural and economic ground realties pose daunting challenges for executing RTE. Human Resource: Though RTE was implemented on April 1, 2010 for whole country, except Jammu & Kashmir, some states have expressed their reservations to some provisions of the Act. There are controversies between the Central and State Governments issues related to the implementation of RTE Act. The MHRD Report (RTE the Second Year) reveals that certain provisions of RTE have not been fully implemented in some of the State and Union Territories. The issues related to funding are also acting as a hurdle in the implementation of the Act. There are certain provisions such as construction of new schools and toilets, has to match up with the requirement of the RTE. And these targets have to be realized by every State. Due to financial constraints some states expressed their inability to adhere to the RTE norms and standards. School Management Committee: There are problems in the in the constitution and functioning of school management committees. Some elementary school teachers desired to improve the selection process of school management committees in the rural area. They want that there should be provision of an observer appointed by the government to conduct the election of school management committees in schools. The school management committee has to play its constructive role in functioning of the school to impart quality and equitable education to children. Prerequisite of Professionally Qualified Teachers: Teacher development can be defined as a systematized, continuous and coherent process of professional development of teachers in accordance with professional competency standards and framework. Teacher development needs to include training in order to adapt to the evolution of teaching and learning processes and methodology. There is a need to shift ‘training’ to professional preparedness of’ of teachers. The question about knowledge, attitude and skills an effective teacher should possess is a subject to debate. The fact remains that the quality of education is dependent on the preparation of high-quality teachers. Enrolment of Children of Economically Weaker Sections: As per the RTE provisions, the unaided private schools are required to reserve 25% seats for children from economically weaker sections of society. No method, however, is prescribed for selection of 25% poor children for admission in unaided private schools. They can choose the children in the way that would benefit them. In spite of this, the private schools have been expressing one or the other excuse for not admitting such children. Their general impression is that due to underprivileged children in their schools they have to compromise discipline and quality of education. The fact is that private schools are elitist and are trying to resist government control over admission. They feel that the rights they are enjoying for years would be taken and the basic character of the private schools would also be demolished. As a result of this resistance in private schools many states are facing problems in implementing relevant provisions of the RTE Act. Pupil Teacher Ratio: Pupil teacher ratio is one of the maintaining the required PTR because for this country as whole has to recruit more than 13 lakh teachers within a time frame. Dropouts: The national dropout rate is about 7%. Major reasons of dropout in India are poverty and child labour, lack of toilet for girls in schools, lack of drinking water facility, lack of playgrounds, lack of teachers, caste and gender discrimination, lack of preschooling and inadequate learning tools. The high dropout rate pushes us to think about inadequate infrastructure, social biases and gender difference as main causes for it. Children with Special Needs: RTE has a provision for providing children friendly environment in schools. On analysis of data it was found that more than 50% schools didn’t have disabled friendly in the country. This may lead to dropout of disabled children in schools. This problem is more serious in the schools located in the rural and remote areas of the country. Single Teacher School: As per the latest data 9% of the elementary schools are still being managed by a single teacher. There are schools in the remote area without any teacher. In some schools the teachers do not come regularly. There is no monitoring of such teachers by bodies such as the government or school management committees. In such a circumstance how right to education can be ensured right to education. Physical Infrastructure: In second year on RTE(MHRD,2012), some infrastructural issues are addressed, which will help us to understand the linkage between the existing and expecting infrastructure facilities in schools. The report Excellence International Journal of Education and Research undoubtedly indicates that 16% of schools still don’t have toilets. This is an alarming number. On one side, provisions are made to bring children to schools and provide them opportunity to stay in the schools, whereas on other hand, they are not able to get the basic facilities like toilets, drinking water, etc. This is an overall situation, if counting will go deeper up to separate toilets for girl children, situation will be more horrible. The teachers have to retain children in school for hours to gather without having the facilities of toilets. Physical and Human resources are needed safe drinking water toilets and nutritious meals. Quality Concerns: Children are entitled not only for education but also for quality education. Quality in elementary education is one of the vital issues. After implementation of RTE Act, every stakeholder is concerned about quality education. The major challenge is to ensure the availability of professionally qualified and committed teachers in sufficient number to impart child-centred education. Absenteeism of teachers, single teacher school, proxy teachers, etc., is some challenges which need to be addressed seriously to ensure high quality elementary education in the country. RTE’s provisions could not become part of total school environment. As a result, the initiative failed to improve classroom processes as envisaged under RTE Act. What happens in a class room plays an important role in overall development of children. Generally, teachers feel that since Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) was introduced, their written work has increased. Maximum time is spent on keeping records. It however does not mean that there is something wrong with CCE. It is rather the way CCE is understood and practiced by the teacher in schools. This is a challenge for the government to attain minimum level of learning in such a situation. SELF- CHECK EXERCISE-4 Q1. What is a major issue affecting the implementation of the RTE Act in many rural and underserved areas? a)    Excessive government funding b)    Infrastructure deficiencies c)    Overqualified teachers d)    Too many schools Q2. Which challenge is associated with improving the quality of education under the RTE Act? a)    Lack of school buildings b)    Outdated curricula and ineffective teaching methods c)    Excessive government regulation d)    High teacher salaries Q3. What is a significant challenge related to teacher shortages under the RTE Act? a)    Overabundance of trained teachers b)    Insufficient teacher training and professional development c)    Too many teachers applying for jobs d)    Teachers' high salaries Q4. What is essential for ensuring compliance with the RTE Act's provisions? a)    Strengthening monitoring and evaluation mechanisms b)    Reducing the number of schools c)    Limiting the use of technology in classrooms d)    Increasing tuition fees Q5. What is a major issue related to financial constraints in implementing the RTE Act? a)    Excessive government spending on education b)    Inadequate funding and resource allocation c)    Overfunding of private schools d)    Insufficient budget for extracurricular activities Q6. Which social barrier is a challenge to the implementation of the RTE Act? a)    High rates of school enrolment b)    Gender bias and caste discrimination c)    Excessive educational resources d)    Low teacher-student ratios Q7. What challenge is associated with high dropout rates under the RTE Act? a)    Excessive academic pressure on students b)    Economic pressures and child labour c) Over availability of secondary schools d) Strict attendance policies Q8. Which aspect of the RTE Act poses a challenge for children with disabilities and special needs? a)    Inadequate funding for private schools b)    Inclusive education practices and support c)    Overqualified teachers d)    Lack of interest in education 18.7    SUMMARY The noble objective of the right of every child to education can be achieved by collective efforts of all the stakeholders. There is a need for coordination, with strong political will and commitment, between the central and state government agencies. Inaction a law alone cannot guarantee the right to education in the country. The stakeholders such as, teachers, head of the institutions, village panchayat, school management committee, parents, non-government organizations, and key persons of society can collectively make quality education accessible to every child under the overall umbrella of the central and state governments. Tough necessary physical infrastructure/ facilities are desirable; they alone cannot guarantee quality education to every child. For practical shape, the ground level functionaries should be taken into confidence and constructively involved in preparing strategies in this regard. The ground level realities must find place in the preparation and implementation of plan for quality elementary education. The point of emphasis here is that coordinated efforts of all the stakeholders are precondition for the success of any initiative, including right to education. Due to social political, economic and geographical constraints, it is challenge before the country to implement the RTE ACT in true sense. Every literate person should also come forward and spread the usefulness of education to illiterate parents who are unable to appreciate the relevance of education in curbing the social evils. Social inequalities and monopolization by any group should not be permitted at any cost. In order to meet the goals, set by us, India must prioritize and invest in making the Act a reality through dialogue and consultation with key stakeholders within and outside the government. For this all the key stakeholders should work overwhelmingly to remove all psychological and social barriers in the implementation of the Act. The most important challenge, if the ground reality is considered, is the abject poverty which further perpetuates child labour and illiteracy. The poverty coupled with population explosion emerges as the root causes of depriving the children their right to education. If our government is really serious about effective implementation of RTE, then the poverty has to be accepted as a biggest challenge. 18.8  GLOSSARY Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009: An Indian law that mandates free and compulsory education for children aged 6 to 14 years. It aims to ensure that every child has access to quality education and that no child is excluded from schooling. 18.9  ANSWERS TO SELF- CHECK EXERCISES Exercise-1 Answer 1    b) Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) Answer 2   b) Education should promote the full development of human personality and respect for human rights. Answer 3 c) Article 28 Answer 4 b) Eliminating discrimination against women in education Answer 5   b) Inclusive education and equal access Answer 6    b) Monitoring and evaluating the quality of education Exercise-2 Answer1    d) Age of students Answer 2   c) 2009 Exercise-3 Answer1     c) Article 21A Answer2    b) Early childhood care and education for children below six years Answer3    a) Article 15 Answer4    c) The cultural and educational rights of minorities Answer5    d) Article 29 Exercise-4 Answer1     b) Infrastructure deficiencies Answer 2 b) Outdated curricula and ineffective teaching methods Answer 3 b) Insufficient teacher training and professional development Answer 4 a) Strengthening monitoring and evaluation mechanisms Answer 5 b) Inadequate funding and resource allocation Answer 6 b) Gender bias and caste discrimination Answer 7 b) Economic pressures and child labor Answer 8 b) Inclusive education practices and support 18.10    REFERENCES / SUGGESTED READINGS Aggarwal, J.C. (2007). Modern Indian Education. New Delhi: Shipra Publications. Government of India (1966). Education and national development. Report of the Education Commission (1964-66). New Delhi: Ministry of Education. Rao, Digumurti Bhaskara and Harshitha, Digumanti (2000). Education in India. New Delhi: A.P.S. Publication. Singh, D.P & Ritu Mor. (2013). Community Participation in School Education, Shipra Publications, New Delhi. Varghese, N.V. (1993) A Manual for Planning Education at District Level New Delhi, NIEPA (Mimeo). 18.11    TERMINAL QUESTIONS Q1. Discuss the key provisions of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, and explain how they aim to ensure universal access to quality education for children in India. Unit-19 MID- DAY MEAL (MDM) PROGRAMME Structure: 19.1    Introduction 19.2    Learning Objectives 19.3    Mid- Day Meal Programme Self- Check Exercise-1 19.4    Implementation and funding Self- Check Exercise-2 19.5    Summary 19.6    Glossary 19.7    Answers to Self Check Exercises 19.8    References/ Suggested readings 19.7    Terminal Questions 19.1    INTRODUCTION The concept of mid-day meal scheme is not new in India as its roots can be traced back to pre independence era when British administration initiated a Mid Day Meal Programme for disadvantage children in Madras Municipal Corporation in 1925. Like this many such programmes were initiated in different states. In 1953, Government of Uttar Pradesh started another such scheme. Tamil Nadu became the first state in India to introduce a noon meal programme in primary schools. In 1984 this scheme was introduced in Gujarat. From time to time the meal scheme was taken up by different states and later on it was taken up as a national scheme. Government of India launched National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (Commonly known as Mid-Day Meal Scheme) on August 15, 1995 to provide mid – day meal to the children studying at primary stage. In 2002, the Supreme Court directed the Government to provide cooked Mid-Day Meals in all Government and Government aided primary schools. It was revised in September 2004 and in September 2006. The National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education commonly known as the Mid-day Meal programme was launched in 1995. It aims to give a boost to universalisation of primary education by increasing enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving the nutritional status of students in primary classes. Under the scheme, cooked meals are served with calorie value equivalent to 100 gm of wheat or rice per student per school day. The honour of starting the Mid-day Meal scheme in elementary schools in the country goes to Tamil Nadu. The number of children covered under the programme has risen from 33.4 million in about 3,22,000 schools in 1995-96 to 105.1 million students in 7,92,000 schools spread over 576 districts in 2000-01. It is targeted to cover 107.2 million children in 578 districts during 2001-02. Over 15 lakh tonnes of food grains were lifted for the scheme during 2000-01 compared to 14 lakh tonnes in 1999-2000. Currently, only six states - Gujarat, Kerala, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh (174 tribal blocks) and Madhya Pradesh - and the Union Territory of Pondicherry are providing hot cooked meals under the programme. In Delhi, ready-to eat food is being distributed. The remaining states/ Union Territories are distributing food grains (wheat/ rice). States like Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka were able to lift 95.7 per cent, 92.9 per cent, 87.8 per cent and 86.6 per cent of food grains respectively under the scheme in 200001 while some others such as Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand and Delhi lifted only 12.78 per cent, 25.17 per cent, 30.33 per cent and 33.98 per cent food grains respectively. The Mid-day Meal scheme has been evaluated by different agencies at different points of time. The Operations Research Group, evaluated the scheme in July 1999 in ten states with the support of UNICEF and found that the scheme has attracted SC/ST children and children belonging to lower income groups to school. The Planning Commission also commissioned two studies in April 2000 to measure the impact of the scheme and found that a cooked meal programme was preferable not only from the health point of view but also because it attracted more children to schools. Similarly, other studies conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) and Public Report on Basic Education (PROBE) have also upheld the view that the scheme has had a positive impact in the direction of universalisation of primary education. 19.2    LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this unit the students will be able to know about: About Vision and Objectives of Mid-day meal programme. About the purpose of implementation of Mid-day meal programme. 19.3    MID- DAY MEAL PROGRAMME The Mid Day Meal Programme is a flagship initiative of the Government of India aimed at improving the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide. Launched in 1995, the scheme provides free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government and government-aided schools. This ambitious program addresses the twin challenges of hunger and education by ensuring that children receive a nutritious meal each day, thereby encouraging school attendance and retention while simultaneously enhancing their learning capabilities. The Mid Day Meal Programme not only aims to improve nutritional outcomes but also seeks to promote social equity and inclusivity by bringing together children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds to share a common meal. With its comprehensive approach to addressing child malnutrition and fostering an inclusive educational environment, the Mid Day Meal Programme stands as a critical component of India's strategy to build a healthier, more educated, and equitable society. VISION AND AIMS OF MID-DAY MEAL PROGRAMME National Level: •    To ensure that every child receives at least one nutritious meal every school day, thereby improving their nutritional status and educational outcomes. •    To create an enabling environment where hunger is not a barrier to education. •    To promote social equity and harmony by eliminating caste, class, and gender discrimination. State Level: •    To adapt and implement the national vision in alignment with local needs and contexts. •    To address specific nutritional deficiencies prevalent in the state. •    To cater to regional dietary preferences while ensuring nutritional adequacy. AIMS National Level: •    To combat classroom hunger by providing a balanced and nutritious meal to school children. •    To enhance enrollment, retention, and attendance rates in schools, especially among disadvantaged sections of society. •    To contribute to the holistic development of children, including their cognitive and physical development. State Level: •    To customize meal plans according to local food habits and nutritional requirements. •    To improve school infrastructure for meal preparation and distribution. •    To ensure efficient and transparent implementation of the scheme across all regions of the state. OBJECTIVES OF MID DAY MEAL (MDM) The Government of India started Mid-Day Meal Scheme. With an aim to enhancing enrolment of children in schools, retention and increased attendance while also improving nutritional levels among children, the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th August, 1995. After some amendments there on, as per the expansion of the programme, the Government designed a set of rules and guidelines to be followed for implementation. These include various aspects related to child health and growth like the quantity of calories and proteins required for children from specific age groups, the quantity of grains that can be allotted to each child and so on. Rationale (MDM) 1.    Promoting school participation:Mid day meals have big effects on school participation, not just in terms of getting more children enrolled in the registers but also in terms of regular pupil attendance on a daily basis. 2.    Preventing classroom hunger: Many children reach school on an empty stomach. Even children who have a meal before they leave for school get hungry by the afternoon and are not able to concentrate - especially children from families who cannot give them a lunch box or are staying a long distance away from the school. Mid-day meal can help to overcome this problem by preventing “classroom hunger”. 3.    Facilitating the healthy growth of children: Mid-day meal can also act as a regular source of “supplementary nutrition” for children, and facilitate their healthy growth. 4.    Intrinsic educational value: A well organised mid-day meal can be used as an opportunity to impart various good habits to children (such as washing one’s hands before and after eating), and to educate them about the importance of clean water, good hygiene and other related matters. 5.    Fostering social equality: Mid-day meal can help spread egalitarian values, as children from various social backgrounds learn to sit together and share a common meal. In particular, mid-day meal can help to break the barriers of caste and class among school. Appointing cooks from Dalit communities is another way of teaching child to overcome caste prejudices. 6.    Enhancing gender equity: The gender gap in school participation tends to narrow, as the Mid-Day Meal Scheme helps erode the barriers that prevent girls from going to school. Mid-Day Meal Scheme also provide a useful source of employment for women, and helps liberate workingwomen from the burden of cooking at home during the day. In these and other ways, women and girl children have a special stake in Mid-Day Meal Scheme. 7.    Psychological Benefits: Physiological deprivation leads to low self-esteem, consequent insecurity, anxiety and stress. The Mid Day Meal Scheme can help address this and facilitate cognitive, emotional and social development. Monitoring Mechanism (MDM) The Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development has prescribed a comprehensive and elaborate mechanism for monitoring and supervision of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme. The monitoring mechanism includes the following: 1.    Arrangements for local level monitoring Representatives of Gram Panchayats/Gram Sabhas, members of VECs, PTAs, SDMCs as well as Mothers' Committees are required to monitor the (i) regularity and wholesomeness of the mid-day meal served to children, (ii) cleanliness in cooking and serving of the mid-day meal, (iii) timeliness in procurement of good quality ingredients, fuel, etc. (iv) implementation of varied menu, (v) social and gender equity. This is required to be done on a daily basis. 2.    Display of Information under Right to Information Act In order to ensure that there is transparency and accountability, all schools and centres where the programme is being implemented are required to display information suo-moto. This includes information on: •      Quality of food grains received, date of receipt. •      Quantity of food grains utilized. •     Other ingredients purchased, utilized •     Number of children given mid-day meal. •     Daily Menu •     Roster of Community Members involved in the programme. 3.    Inspections by State Government Officers Officers of the State Government/UTs belonging to the Departments of Revenue, Rural Development, Education and other related sectors, such as Women and Child Development, Food, Health are also required to inspect schools and centres where the programme is being implemented. It has been recommended that 25% of primary schools/EGS & AIE centres are visited every quarter. 4.    Responsibility of Food Corporation of India (FCI) The FCI is responsible for the continuous availability of adequate food grains in its Depots (and in Principal Distribution Centres in the case of North East Region). It allows lifting of food grains for any month/quarter upto one month in advance so that supply chain of food grains remains uninterrupted. For the NP-NSPE, 2006, the FCI is mandated to issue food grains of best available quality, which will in any case be at least of Fair Average Quality (FAQ). The FCI appoints a Nodal Officer for each State to take care of various problems in supply of food grains under the MDM Programme. The District Collector/CEO of Zila Panchayat ensures that food grains of at least FAQ are issued by FCI after joint inspection by a team consisting of FCI and the nominee of the Collector and/or Chief Executive Officer, District Panchayat, and confirmation by them that the grain conforms to at least FAQ norms. 5. Periodic Returns The State Government/UT is also required to submit periodic returns to the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India to provide information on: (i) coverage of children and institutions, (ii) Progress in utilisation of Central assistance, including cooking costs, transportation, construction of kitchen sheds and procurement of kitchen devices. 6.    Monitoring by Institutions of Social Science Research Forty One Institutions of Social Science Research, identified for monitoring the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, are also entrusted with the task of monitoring the Mid-Day Scheme. 7.Grievance Redressal States and Union Territories are required to develop a dedicated mechanism for public grievance redressal, which should be widely publicized and made easily accessible. SELF-CHECKEXERCISE-1 Q.1 The Mid-Day Meal Scheme was launched by the Government of India on: a)    August 15, 1995 b)    January 26, 1994 c)    November 14, 1993 d)    October 2, 1992 Q.2 Which agency conducted an evaluation of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in July 1999 with the support of UNICEF? a)    National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) b)    Operations Research Group c)    Planning Commission d)    Public Report on Basic Education (PROBE) Q.3 The first state in India to introduce a noon meal programme in primary schools was __________. Q.4 The Mid-Day Meal Scheme aims to improve the nutritional status of students in __________ classes. Q.5    Which organization is responsible for ensuring the continuous availability of food grains for the Mid-Day Meal Scheme? Q.6    What is the primary aim of the Mid-Day Meal Scheme in terms of student participation? 19.4 IMPLEMENTATION AND FUNDING Implementation Strategies •  National Level: The central government formulates policies, allocates funds, provides food grains, and monitors the overall implementation. •  State Level: State governments adapt national guidelines to local contexts, manage day-to-day operations, and ensure the effective distribution of funds and resources. By focusing on these vision, aims, and objectives at both the national and state levels, the Mid Day Meal Scheme strives to create a healthier, more educated, and socially inclusive future for India’s children. Implementation of the Mid Day Meal Programme The implementation of the Mid Day Meal (MDM) Programme involves a multitiered approach with roles and responsibilities distributed across central, state, and local levels. Central Level •    Policy Formulation: The central government formulates policies and guidelines for the effective implementation of the MDM Programme. •  Funding: It provides a major portion of the funding required for the scheme, covering food grains and a part of the cooking cost. •  Monitoring: The Ministry of Education, specifically the Department of School Education and Literacy, oversees the implementation and monitoring of the scheme at the national level. State Level •    Implementation: State governments are responsible for the day-to-day implementation of the scheme, including the transportation of food grains from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) to schools, and ensuring the availability of necessary infrastructure. •  Adaptation: States adapt  the central guidelines to local needs, considering regional dietary preferences and nutritional requirements. •  Monitoring: States set up monitoring mechanisms at various levels (district, block, and school) to ensure the quality and efficiency of the program. •    Training: States provide training to cooks, helpers, and school staff on hygiene, nutrition, and safe food handling practices. District and Block Level •    Coordination:  District and  block-level  authorities coordinate the implementation of the MDM Programme across schools within their jurisdiction. •    Supervision: They supervise the functioning of the program, ensuring timely delivery of food grains, funds, and other resources. •    Inspection: Regular inspections are conducted to check the quality and hygiene of the meals served. School Level •    Execution: Schools are responsible for preparing and distributing meals to students. •    Management: School Management Committees (SMCs) or similar bodies monitor the scheme's implementation at the school level. •    Record Keeping: Schools maintain records of the number of meals served, food grains received and utilized, and funds expended. Funding of the Mid Day Meal Programme The funding for the Mid Day Meal Programme is shared between the central and state governments. Central Government •  Food Grains: The central government provides free food grains (rice/wheat) to the states. •  Cooking Cost: It contributes a significant portion of the cooking cost, which includes expenses for ingredients (other than grains), fuel, and salaries for cooks and helpers. •    Transportation: The central government provides assistance for the transportation of food grains from FCI god owns to school premises. State Government •    Cooking Cost: The state governments share the cooking cost as per a pre-determined ratio with the central government. •    Infrastructure: States are responsible for funding the construction and maintenance of kitchen-cum-stores and the provision of kitchen devices. •    Additional Contributions: State governments may provide additional funds to enhance the quality of meals or to cover any gaps in funding. Fund Flow Mechanism 1.    Release of Funds: The central government releases funds to the states/UTs based on approved annual work plans. 2.    State Allocation: State governments allocate funds to districts and blocks according to the number of beneficiary students and the requirements of each area. 3.    Disbursement to Schools: Funds are transferred to schools’ bank accounts, ensuring they have the necessary resources to implement the scheme effectively. 4.    Electronic Transfer: The use of electronic fund transfer systems (like Public Financial Management System - PFMS) ensures transparency and reduces delays. Monitoring and Evaluation •    Third-Party Evaluations: Independent agencies are often engaged to conduct evaluations of the MDM Programme. •    Technology Integration: Mobile apps and web-based platforms are used for real-time monitoring. •    Grievance Redressal: Mechanisms are in place at various levels to address complaints and grievances related to the MDM Programme. By ensuring a structured implementation process and a clear funding mechanism, the Mid Day Meal Programme aims to effectively reach millions of children across India, providing them with nutritious meals and supporting their education and overall development. SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-2 Q .1 Who is primarily responsible for formulating policies and guidelines for the Mid Day Meal Programme? A) State Government B)    District Authorities C)    Central Government D)    School Management Committees (SMCs) Q.2 At which level is the day-to-day implementation of the Mid Day Meal Programme managed? A)    Central Level B)    District Level C)    State Level D)    School Level Q.3 Which entity provides a major portion of the funding for the cooking costs in the Mid Day Meal Programme? A)    State Government B)    Central Government C)    School Management Committees (SMCs) D)    District Authorities Q.4 What is the role of District and Block Level authorities in the Mid Day Meal Programme? A)    Policy Formulation B)    Supervision and Coordination C)    Providing Training D)    Cooking and Distribution of Meals Q.5 How are funds for the Mid Day Meal Programme disbursed to schools? A)    Direct Cash Payments B)    School Management Committees (SMCs) C)    Electronic Transfer Systems D)    District Authorities Q.6 Which of the following is a responsibility of the State Government under the Mid Day Meal Programme? A)    Policy Formulation B)    Providing Free Food Grains C)    Construction and Maintenance of Kitchen-Cum-Stores D)    Conducting Third-Party Evaluations Q.7 What is the primary purpose of the third-party evaluations in the Mid Day Meal Programme? A)    To conduct cooking training B)    To assess and improve the effectiveness of the programme C)    To formulate policies D)    To manage day-to-day operations Q.8 Which mechanism is used for real-time monitoring of the Mid Day Meal Programme? A)    Manual Reports B)    Mobile Apps and Web-Based Platforms C)    Community Meetings D)    Printed Surveys Q.9 What role do School Management Committees (SMCs) play in the Mid Day Meal Programme? A)    Providing Food Grains B)    Monitoring and Managing Scheme Implementation at the School Level C)    Policy Formulation D)    Funding Allocation Q.10 Which level is responsible for ensuring the availability of necessary infrastructure for the Mid Day Meal Programme? A)    Central Level B)    State Level C)    District Level D)    School Level 19.5    SUMMARY The Mid Day Meal Programme in India provides free lunches to children in government and government-aided primary and upper primary schools to improve their nutritional status and boost school enrollment and attendance. Launched in 1995, the programme aims to combat classroom hunger, enhance educational outcomes, and promote social equity by encouraging children from diverse backgrounds to share a common meal. The scheme is funded and managed through a collaborative effort between the central and state governments, ensuring the provision of food grains, cooking costs, and necessary infrastructure. Regular monitoring and evaluation ensure its effectiveness, making it a key initiative in supporting child nutrition and education across India. 19.6    GLOSSARY Mid-Day Meal: The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the government of India designed to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide. Food Corporation of India (FCI): A government agency responsible for the procurement, storage, and distribution of food grains used in the Mid Day Meal Programme. Food Grains: Basic staple foods such as rice and wheat provided by the central government as part of the Mid Day Meal Programme. Village Education Committees (VECs): Community-based organizations involved in the implementation and monitoring of education programs, including the Mid Day Meal Programme, at the village level. 19.7    ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES SELF CHECK EXERCISE-1 Answer 1) a Answer 2) b Answer 3) Tamil Nadu Answer 4) primary Answer 5) FCI (Food Corporation of India) Answer 6) Enrolment SELF CHECK EXERCISE-2 Answer 1: C) Central Government Answer 2: C) State Level Answer 3: B) Central Government Answer 4: B) Supervision and Coordination Answer 5: C) Electronic Transfer Systems Answer 6: C) Construction and Maintenance of Kitchen-Cum-Stores Answer 7: B) To assess and improve the effectiveness of the programme Answer 8: B) Mobile Apps and Web-Based Platforms Answer 9: B) Monitoring and Managing Scheme Implementation at the School Level Answer 10: B) State Level 19.8    REFERENCES/ SUGGESTED READINGS Ministry of Education, Government of India. (n.d.). Mid Day Meal Scheme Guidelines. Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD). (n.d.). [Annual Work Plan and Budget (AWP&B)]. National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD). (201 8). Mid Day Meal Programme: A Case Study of Best Practices in India. Dreze, J., & Goyal, A. (2003). Future of Mid Day Meals. Economic and Political Weekly, 38(44), 4673-4683. Afridi, F. (2010). Child Welfare Programs and Child Nutrition: Evidence from a Mandated School Meal Program in India. Journal of Development Economics, 92(2), 152-165. Singh, A., Park, A., & Dercon, S. (2014). School Meals as a Safety Net: An Evaluation of the Mid Day Meal Scheme in India. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 62(2), 275-306. Khera, R. (2006). Mid-Day Meals in Primary Schools: Achievements and Challenges. Economic and Political Weekly, 41(46), 4742-4750. Sharma, A., & Agarwal, S. (2014). Impact of Mid Day Meal Scheme on Enrollment and Retention of Primary School Children. Global Journal for Research Analysis, 3(4), 72-74. 19.9    TERMINAL QUESTIONS 1.    What are the primary objectives of the Mid Day Meal Programme in India? 2.    What are the roles and responsibilities of the central and state governments in implementing the Mid Day Meal Programme? 3.    Describe the funding mechanism of the Mid Day Meal Programme. How are the costs shared between the central and state governments? Unit-20 RASHTRIYA UCHCHATTAR SHIKSHA ABHIYAAN (RUSA) Structure: 20.1    Introduction 20.2    Learning Objectives 20.3    Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA) Self Check Exercise-1 20.4 -Current Challenges Self Check Exercise-2 20.5    Summary 20.6    Glossary 20.7    Answers to Self Check Exercises 20.8    References/ Suggested readings 20.9    Terminal Questions 20.1    INTRODUCTION Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA):   is a holistic scheme of development for higher education in India initiated in 2013 by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The centrally sponsored scheme aims at providing strategic funding to higher educational institutions throughout the country. Funding is provided by the central ministry through the state governments and union territories (UT), which in coordination with the central Project Appraisal Board will monitor the academic, administrative and financial advancements taken under the scheme. A total of 316 s The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the government of India designed to improve the nutritional status of school-age children nationwide.[1] The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centers, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour. Serving 120,000,000 children in over 1,265,000 schools and Education Guarantee Scheme centers, it is the largest such programme in the world Under article 24, paragraph 2c]of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which India is a party, India has committed to providing "adequate nutritious foods" for children. The programme entered the planning stages in 2001 and was implemented in 2004. The programme has undergone many changes since its launch. The Midday Meal Scheme is covered by the National Food Security Act, 2013. The legal backing to the Indian school meal programme is similar to the legal backing provided in the US through the National School Lunch Act. 20.2    LEARNING OBJECTIVES After reading this chapter the students will be able to know: About the Expansion, Equity, Excellence and Privatization of Higher Education in Context of RUSA. 20.3    RASHTRIYA UCHCHTTAR SHIKSHA ABHIYAN (RUSA) The success of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyaan (RMSA) has laid a strong foundation for primary and secondary education in India. However, the sphere of higher education has still has not seen any concerted effort for improvement in access or quality. In the coming decades, India is set to reap the benefit of demographic dividend with its huge working age population. The International Labour Organization (ILO) has predicted that by 2020, India will have 116 million workers in the age bracket of 20 to 24 years, as compared to China’s 94 million. India has a very favorable dependency ratio and it is estimated that the average age in India by the year 2020 will be 29 years as against 40 years in USA, 46 years in Japan and 47 years in Europe. In fact, we have more than 60% of our population in the age group of 15 to 59 years. This trend is very significant on the grounds that what matters is not the size of the population, but its age structure. It would be a lost opportunity if we don’t take advantage of this dividend. Herein lies the significance of higher education. We must strive to prepare an educated and productive workforce through a concerted eff ort to improve the quality and relevance of higher education. The XII Plan continues to maintain focus on higher education in the country, to make it more relevant to the global needs and to remove the inequities in access to education amongst various social groups. Such objectives are sought to be realized by providing adequate inputs and implementing much needed governance and regulatory reforms in the sector. Greater emphasis will be laid on the improvement of the quality of teaching learning processes in order to produce employable and competitive graduates, postgraduates and PhDs. With respect to the planning and funding approach, some key changes are envisaged; (a)    Funding will be more impact and result oriented, (b)    Various equity related schemes will be integrated for a higher impact, (c) Instead of unplanned expansion, there will be a focus on consolidating and developing the existing system by adding capacities and (d)    There will be a greater focus on research and innovation. A paradigm shift proposed by the Planning Commission is in the arena of funding of the state higher education system. Strategic funding of this sector has been strongly proposed in order to make a marked difference in the overall resource endowment for the state higher education sector. The higher education system in India today suffers from many shortcomings. Our Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) is only 19.4%1 this means that only a fraction of the population in the age group of 18-23 years is enrolled in higher education institutions. In addition to very low access to higher education in general, there are wide disparities between various social groups. The GERs for SCs, STs and OBCs are far below the average GER and those of other social groups. There is also a wide gender disparity; GER for males is 20.9% while that for females is only 16.5%. Given these myriad challenges, a drastic change is required in the approach that has traditionally been adopted for the development of higher education in the country. There are four broad categories of higher education institutions in India, centrally funded institutions, state funded institutions, deemed institutions and private institutions. While the centrally-funded institutions (Central Universities, IITs, NITs, IISERs, Institutes of National Importance etc) receive generous funding from the center, they have a limited coverage in terms of enrollment. About 94%2 of the students enrolled in government funded (48% of total enrolments) or government controlled private institutions come under the state higher education system. It is worth noting that most private education sinstitutions (52% of all enrolments) are affiliated to state universities and come under their academic and administrative control. Thus, any efforts for development in this sector must recognize the importance of state higher education institutions and aim to improve their status. While state universities cater to a large number of students, their funding is only a fraction of that provided to central institutions. Over the years most states have not been able to allocate enough funds to higher education; these meager funds are thinly spread as a result of being shared amongst many institutions. Plan expenditure on higher education in states is almost stagnant. As a result, the quality of infrastructure and teaching in state universities is far below the acceptable levels. Shortage of funds and procedural bottlenecks cause vacancies in faculty positions and also compel the state public institutions to look for alternate funding options. Linked to faculty quality and availability are the issues of quality of teaching, research output and general management; in state universities these areas have been grossly neglected. In order to raise funds, most universities rely heavily on the affiliation fees they receive from affiliated institutions and on self-financing courses. Treating affiliation fees as source of income and starting courses for revenue-generation have led to further dilution of quality and perpetuation of inequity. Except a few institutions, most affiliated institutions depend heavily upon the University for administrative, examination- related and curricular matters. This amounts to an unnecessary burden on the university as it is reduced to an administrative and exam conducting body rather than an institution focused on promoting teaching, research and faculty development of associated colleges. This system also takes away the autonomy of affiliated institutions in teaching and conducting examinations. Instead of increasing access in a positive way, the affiliation system creates a highly Centralized and inefficient institutional structure, which does not allow its constituents any room for creativity in teaching, learning, curriculum development or research. In such a structure, quality enhancement can only be brought about by reducing the burden at the university level and giving greater autonomy and accountability to the constituents through affiliation reforms. In addition to general issues about the quality of infrastructure, teaching and learning in state universities as compared to central universities, there is also an element of intra- state difference within the states, this leads to better institutions developing in urban or industrial areas and consequent neglect of rural and tribal areas. At the state level, there is a lack of vision and planning for the development of institutions and the higher education sector. Given the complexities of managing access and equity issues within and amongst states as well as the large number of institutions that already come under the state university system, there is a crying need for holistic planning in higher education focusing on the state as the basic unit. This planning should be done by an autonomous body, which can raise and allocate funds from the state as well as central government and explore options of revenue generation through research, consulting, private and industry partnerships. The State Universities are already provided some funds from the central government through the University Grants Commission. However, UGC’s mandate allows it to fund only a limited number of institutions that are Section 12B and 2(f) (UGC Act) compliant. As of March 2012, this excluded about 33% of the universities and 51% of the colleges in the country. UGC is also not allowed to channelize funds through the state government or through any entity other than an educational institution, which makes it impossible for the UGC to fund any planning and expansion activity through a state level higher education body. UGC as a regulator should be actively involved in planning for new institutions but the present system does not permit it to do so. Thus states often complain about being unaware of the development funds that come to the state institutions from the centre; this makes planning and funding very difficult for the states. An optimum solution will be to create an alternate way (a centrally sponsored scheme) of providing funding to a larger number of institutions and channelizing funds through a body that ensures cohesive and integrated planning at the state level. Such a solution makes imminent management sense since it is almost impossible for any central agency to deal with 35000 odd institutions on a one- on- one basis. Given the pitiable resource condition, wide reach of the state university system, and the limitations of the UGC, there is a strong need for a strategic intervention for the improvement of access, equity and quality in Indian higher education, that focuses on state universities and state institutions though a special centrally sponsored scheme in a mission mode. This document proposes a new centrally sponsored scheme for higher education which will be spread over two plan periods (XII and XIII) and will focus on state higher educational institutions. The scheme will be called Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA).There are 3064 state universities and about 8500 colleges that can be covered under RUSA. The funding will be provided in the (Center: State) ratio of 90:10 for Special Category States i.e. North-Eastern States, Sikkim, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand and 65:35 for Other States and UTs. Funding will be available to private government-aided institutions also, subject to their meeting certain pre-conditions, for permitted activities based on pre-determined norms and parameters. RUSA will have a completely new approach towards funding higher education in state universities; it will be based on key principles of performance-based funding, incentivizing well performing institutions and decision-making through clearly defined norms. A management information system will be established to gather essential information from institutions. RUSA will aim to provide greater autonomy to universities as well as colleges and have a sharper focus on equity-based development, and improvement in teaching learning quality and research. It will be a new flagship scheme of the government that will provide the way for far reaching reforms at the state level. The National Policy on Higher Education (1986) translated the vision of the Radhakrishnan Commission and the Kothari Commission into an actionable policy by setting five main goals for higher education, as enumerated below: •    Access: Greater access requires an enhancement of the education institutional capacity of the higher education sector to provide opportunities to all those who deserve and desire higher education. •    Equity: Equity involves fair access of the poor and the socially disadvantaged groups to higher education. •    Quality and Excellence: involve provision of education in accordance with accepted standards so that students receive available knowledge of the highest standard that helps them to enhance their human resource capabilities. •    Relevance: involves promotion of education so as to develop human resources keeping pace with the changing economic, social and cultural development of the country; and There are also differences in the quality of institutions and enrolments between rural and urban areas and between developed states and notso- developed ones. •    Value Based Education: involves inculcating basic moral values among the youth. The Action Plan of 1992 included schemes and programs that were directed towards the expansion of intake capacity in general, and with respect to the disadvantaged groups such as the poor, SCs, STs, minorities, girls, physically challenged persons, and those in the educationally backward regions, in particular. The schemes/programs were designed to improve quality by strengthening academic and physical infrastructure, in order to promote excellence in those institutions which had exhibited potential for excellence, and to develop curriculum to inculcate right values among the youth. An analysis of the past five year plans indicates that, there have been continuous efforts to strengthen the base by developing infrastructure, improving the quality through several programs and schemes, introducing reforms in content and evaluation and encouraging creation of new knowledge through research. The focus of V Five-Year Plan was on infrastructure development; the VI Plan onwards the focus shifted to consolidation and quality improvement. The VII Plan laid emphasis on research and academic developments. It was from this plan onwards that the development of centers of excellence and area study programs got special attention. From the VIII Plan onward, the need for differential funding was recognized, it was envisaged that the developing departments would be provided necessary funds to bring up their facilities and activities to an optimum level for their teaching and general research programs. The IX Plan aimed at gearing the system of higher education to meet the challenges arising out of the major social, economic and technological changes. The focus of the X Plan was on quality and relevance of higher education, research and development, management in fi nancing and the use of the new information and communication technologies. The X Plan provided the basis for higher education in the 21st century. The XI Plan laid renewed emphasis on higher education and the three targets of broadening access, making higher education inclusive and promoting improvements in quality. In the XI Plan, the share of education in total plan outlay increased from mere 6.7% in the X Plan to 19.4%, of which 30% was earmarked for higher education. OBJECTIVES RUSA aims to provide equal development to all higher institutions and rectify weaknesses in the higher education system. Its target achievement is to raise the gross enrolment ratio to 32% by the end of XII Plan in 2017. The major objectives are to: 1.    Improve the overall quality of existing state institutions by ensuring that all institutions conform to prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework. 2. Usher transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating a facilitating institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in state universities and improving governance in institutions. 3.    Ensure academic and examination reforms in the higher educational institutions. 4.    Enable conversion of some of the universities into research universities at par with the best in the world. 5.    Create opportunities for states to undertake reforms in the affiliation system in order to ensure that the reforms and resource requirements of affiliated colleges are adequately met. 6.    Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and ensure capacity building at all levels of employment. 7.    Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to devote themselves to research and innovations. 8.    Expand the institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establishing new institutions, in order to achieve enrolment targets. 9.    Correct regional imbalances in access to higher education by facilitating access to high quality institutions in urban and semi-urban areas, creating opportunities for students from rural areas to get access to better quality institutions and setting up institutions in un-served and underserved areas. 10.    Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to SC/STs and socially and educationally backward classes; promote inclusion of women, minorities, and differently abled persons. FUNDING PROCESS RUSA is provided by the central Ministry of Human Resource Development directly to the state and UT governments. From the state/UT budget the funds are disbursed to individual institutions. The funding to states would be made on the basis of critical appraisal of state plans for higher education plans. The amount of funding from central government will be 65% of the total grants, and 35% will be contributed by the state/UT as matching share. For northeastern states, Sikkim, Jammu and Kashmir, and Uttarakhand the matching share is waived to 10%.[5] During the 12th Five-Year Plan period between 2012–201, RUSA is allotted a financial outlay of INR 228.55 billion, of which INR 162.27 billion will be contributed by the central government. During the first phase, 80 new universities would be created by converting autonomous colleges/colleges in a cluster to state universities. 100 new colleges would be set up and 54 existing colleges would be converted into model degree colleges. Infrastructure grants would be given to 150 universities and 3,500 colleges to upgrade and fill critical gaps in infrastructure especially libraries, laboratories, etc. Further additional 5,000 faculty positions would be supported. Then the scheme will extend into the 13th Five-Year Plan. APPROACH The XII Plan cautions against single-minded and narrow strategies for improving access and equity, as they tend to do so at the expense of quality. A holistic approach is argued for, so that expansion is not just about accommodating ever larger number of students in higher education, but also about enabling the expanded pool of students to make choices about subjects and institutions so that they can realize their full potential and realize their personal goals. Redressing multiple and graded inequalities in higher education is not just about increasing the GER among disadvantaged groups; it is also about enhancing their presence in the centers of excellence, taking care of their postadmission needs and redesigning curricula to take into account their specific requirements. The challenge of excellence is not just about placing a few institutions and individuals at par with global norms for excellence; it is also about expanding the pool of institutions, scholars and students who continuously strive to improve quality to achieve global excellence. Thus, an interconnected strategy for higher education development is needed to address issues of access, equity and excellence in a coordinated manner. STRATEGIC SHIFT Access, Equity, and Excellence would continue to be the main thrust areas of the XII Plan with respect to higher education. However, considering the inter-linkages between them and taking into consideration the current realities of the higher education, these objectives need to be pursued differently. A strategic shift in thinking is needed in several critical areas ranging from issues of access and equity to teaching learning process, research, governance, funding and monitoring. These shifts are explained below: 1.    Significantly Increase funds for higher education and use funds strategically. This investment has to come from both public and private sources and both from the central and state exchequer. 2.    Connect various funding streams to specific outcomes and desired impact. This would need reforms in governance arrangements at all levels (national, state and institutional), with suitable implementation frameworks and monitoring arrangements. 3.    Foster institutional autonomy and link meaningful academic autonomy and managerial flexibility with effective monitoring and overall accountability through competitiveness. 4.    Targeted, integrated and effective equity related schemes, instead of the existing maze of multiple, diff used and low-value schemes, so as to give effect to the Constitutional ideal of Equality of Opportunity. Mechanisms for connecting national and state equity programs are needed. 5.    Institutional differentiation and distinctiveness should be encouraged. The spectrum of higher educational institutions must include multidisciplinary research universities as well as short cycle vocational education institutions. 6.    A renewed focus must be laid on research by integrating teaching and research. 7.    Shift from an input-centric and credential-focused approach to learner-centric approach. 8.    Consolidate rather than expand the number of institutions to ensure that the capacity expansion is done at lower capital costs and quality is maintained while expanding the system. New institutions can still be set up in areas uncovered so far. 9.    A move towards internationalization of higher education is imperative. 10.    Creation of alliances, networks, clusters, and consortia of academic institutions amongst themselves and with the research institutions and industry should be facilitated in order to create a self-governing system. COMPONENTS OF RUSA RUSA is envisaged as a prime vehicle for strategic funding of state institutions so as to ensure that issues of access, equity and quality are addressed in an equitable manner with the state as a composite unit of planning. The following are the primary components of RUSA that capture the key action and funding areas that must be pursued for the fulfillment of the targets: 1.    New Universities 2.    Upgradation of existing autonomous colleges to Universities 3.    Conversion of colleges to Cluster Universities 4.    Infrastructure grants to Universities 5.    New Model Colleges (General) 6.    Upgradation of existing degree colleges to model colleges 7.    New Colleges (Professional) 8.    Infrastructure grants to colleges 9.    Research, innovation and quality improvement 10.    Equity initiatives 11.    Faculty Recruitment Support 12.    Faculty improvements 13.    Research Universities 14.    Vocationalisation of Higher Education 15.    Leadership Development of Educational Administrators 16.    Institutional restructuring & reforms 17.    Capacity building & preparation, Data collection & planning 18.    Management Information System INNOVATIONS IN RESEARCH AND UNIVERSITIES The following are the specific suggestions to promote innovation and research in the State universities: (I) . Specialization Oriented Inter University Centers (IUCs) More specialty-oriented Inter University Centers (IUCs) may be created, particularly in view of the enormous benefit presently accruing to the faculty/ scientists from the existing IUCs. Provision of “Central Instrumentation Facility” catering to faculty members should be made. To maintain the instruments and take care of their running costs, a Corpus Fund with the support of the UGC may be created in each State University. A data bank of all major equipment may be maintained at the State University level and displayed on the university web page to enable collaborations and for optimal utilization by all the stakeholders. An IUC for informal knowledge systems pertaining to cultures, Communities, heritages, endangered languages, etc. should be set up by the UGC at the national level. (II) . Innovation Clusters / Innovation Incubators: University Innovation Clusters should be set up in all geographical locations with the State University acting as a nodal point of such a cluster, with a view to building an innovation network with industry, other universities and Research and Development (R&D) laboratories. This would ensure optimum use of human and infrastructural resource. An Innovation Incubator should be established to create the necessary linkages between the State University, relevant local/national industries, and research labs. / Institutions, civil society and the government. The funding for such initiatives on creating clusters and incubators must be realized through Public Private Partnerships. For State Universities/institutions located in remote/rural/ less developed areas, special steps should be taken to develop their human resource and infrastructural capacities. These    steps     may    include     ‘mentoring’     by    reputed     National Institutions/laboratories/industry/individual, etc. A concerted and collective effort may be made by the State Universities and research institutions located in various geographical regions to access, coordinate and develop cross border resources and knowledge pools. Measures like incentive networking with cross border academic and research institutions and exchange of scholars, professionals and experts could be undertaken in order to facilitate the same. To encourage university-industry partnership, adequate measures should be taken including fiscal incentives. (III) . Research Grants: Funds for development of research infrastructure facilities like the Special Assistance Programme (SAP) programme may be given to each Post Graduate department of the State University. Separate funding for enhancing the research of State Universities for possessing high reputation in research like “Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) scheme could to be enhanced. Generous funding should be given to the State Universities for carrying out quality research so that high caliber human resource is produced .The faculty of the State Universities could be allowed to take up consultancy work and collaborative research with industry and other private stakeholders. Every State University should enhance the relationship between universities and industries for the scientific advancement as well as for developing quality workforce. (IV) . Incentives to Faculty: For the promotion of research activity, the state government should encourage college teachers by providing seed money or grant for research projects. Faculty with higher research performance and output should be considered for incentive promotions. There should be a non-lapsable pool earmarked for research work at the State University level with due incentives, awards and recognition for outstanding research work. At the State level, a body involving distinguished scholars / researches having expertise in different areas both at the national and international levels should be constituted. Teaching faculty should be considered for reimbursement of travel, accommodation and other related expenses for duty related travel on par with industries and the private sector. (V) . Research Facilities: A separate common fund for developing sophisticated facilities is necessary for developing research capabilities of the State University system. Common research facilities should be available to researchers of all universities in the state. The scholars should be given appropriate research scholarships and the universities should be able to build up facilities like well- equipped laboratories, language laboratories, libraries, archival collections, etc. (VI) . Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Cells: The scientist inventing the intellectual property should be given priority in sharing the IPR along with the sponsoring agency and the State University and should be encouraged to develop, disclosed patent and commercial intellectual property. (VII) . (viii) Data Bank: A data bank on problems/challenges faced by industry / enterprises / and society should be created for undertaking research projects in the State University. The interdisciplinary expertise, equipped laboratories, students, and library services in the State Universities / affiliated colleges should be used for joint research with research institutions / industry. A Databank of universities in the State should also be created. (VIII) . Research Publications: Research publications by the faculty of the State Universities, on acceptance by international journals could be considered for funding of full or partial cost. The faculty should be allowed to draw royalty income derived from transferring their inventions to industry. They should also be encouraged to take up paid consulting work for companies or positions in Advisory Boards. (IX) . Foreign Collaboration: The government should liberalize the policies for collaboration with foreign countries and to receive the grants for research. (X) . Research Incentives for Students: The government should increase the amount and number of student fellowships. Fellowships should be given at different stages starting from entry to graduate programmes. The conducting of course work for Ph.D. should be undertaken by the recognized research guide in collaboration with the university departments and, if necessary, invited experts from outside the State University. The UGC should provide funds to introduce Masters-Ph.D. integrated courses in the State Universities for at least 20% of the students in each subject. (XI) . ICT: ICT content development be made compulsory at the State University level. The research scholars should be motivated to opt for innovative inter-disciplinary research to take advantage of the convergence of technologies centers of Excellence in Research and Development will be created in at least 10 important and specific areas chosen by an expert committee. Joint ventures and Memoranda of Understanding with world class universities and premier institutions across the world would be encouraged. The effort should preferably be on locating these Centers in the Research Universities proposed under RUSA. (XII) . Seniority cum Performance based Promotion: To introduce seniority-cum-performance based promotion to attract and retain world class talent, the following is suggested: Performance appraisal of teachers may be initiated based on Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with each faculty member. Points can be allocated to teaching, learning and evaluation activities, which include tutorials, lectures and practical’s; research activities and co-curricular activities. An “Internal Quality Assessment Cell” will maintain an annual database of individual and institutional performance. (XIII) . Creating Centers of Excellence: Each state university may develop at least one centre of excellence in a discipline considering its own human resource endowments and regional requirements. Existing models either in the Central Universities or research centers in this regard may be studied. It is also necessary to study success models of coordination and collaboration between and State universities and Central Universities and research laboratories. (XIV) . Innovative Academic Programmes: Promoting quality research requires, apart from other things, quality research students. One initiative suggested is introduction of four year undergraduate programme with a provision for attaining Master’s Degree with additional credits. This has to be supported not only to augment quality input but more important to retain them for research. (XV) . Funding for Cutting-edge Research: Top academicians prefer to join only those special institutions which have good research funding rather than universities. This is very much against the international practice where the cutting edge research is carried out in the universities and not in institutions outside the university system. Carrying out cutting- edge research in a university ensures supply of fresh blood in the system and motivates young minds to take research as their career. It is most important that the cutting edge research is brought into the State University system commensurate with funding so that high caliber human resource is produced by the university. In respect of research and innovations, the following need to be done; ACADEMIC REFORMS An action plan is needed for the phase-wise introduction of substantive academic reforms in the institutions of higher education in the country. Academic reforms are a key towards imparting better quality education that is oriented towards employability and innovation. In addition to changes in the existing system, we need to introduce new policies that would make the higher education system more flexible to the needs of the students and the society. Following are the details regarding the academic reforms that must be undertaken by the states and institutions. 1.    Semester System For long, educational institutions have had the format of academic session, spread over 10 to 12 months. This format suffers from several limitations, which is why most institutions of higher education in Western Europe and North America follow a semester-based system. The semester system goes far beyond a time-based format. It enlarges curricular space and encourages and supports accelerated learning opportunities for all concerned. Further, it has the ability to accommodate diverse choices that dynamic and motivated students may like to make. In India, too, several professional and technical institutions have adopted a semester system. Reportedly, it is working satisfactorily. Given this fact, it is high time that the semester system is made mandatory for all the institutions of higher education in India, and all the universities are asked to switch over to the semester system. The implementation of semester system calls for several interconnected steps that will have to be undertaken by the universities and colleges. These are as follows: •    Deliberation and resolution on the semester system in appropriate academic bodies of the institution at different levels to develop a time line. •    Decision on the student-faculty contact hours during a semester in different programmes, that is, certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate. M.Phil. and Ph.D. students also to do course work. •  Re-configuration and revision of curricula (while the quantum of instruction work of faculty members remains about the same, the number of papers or credits would be twice as many). •    Determining the amount of work to be completed (or credit points to be earned) by the students in undergraduate, postgraduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. programs. •    Decision on the time-distribution for class room-work, field-work, laboratory-work, workshop practice and/or other curricular work. •    Distribution will vary from subject to subject. •    The implementation of semester system may be completed within two calendar years in all the Central Universities and within three years in all the State Universities. 2.    Choice Based Credit System The Choice-based Credit System (CBCS) has several unique features: Enhanced learning opportunities, ability to match students’ scholastic needs and aspirations, interinstitution transferability of students (following the completion of a semester), partcompletion of an academic programme in the institution of enrolment and partcompletion in a specialized (and recognized) institution, improvement in educational quality and excellence, flexibility for working students to complete the programme over an extended period of time, standardization and comparability of educational programme across the country, etc. The CBCS eminently fits into the emerging socioeconomic milieu, and could effectively respond to the educational and occupational aspirations of the upcoming generations. In view of this, institutions of higher education in India would do well to invest their available resources into introducing CBCS. Aided by modern communication and information technology, CBCS has a high potential to be operationalize efficiently and effectively - thus elevating students, institutions and the higher education system in the country to newer heights. It might be added that a large number of universities and institutions in the country already have their undergraduate and post-graduate ‘papers’ subdivided into units and sub-units. In switching over to CBCS, the task of such institutions would be relatively easy. In a generalized manner, the sequence of CBCS would be: Paper - Unit – Sub units - Credits. For implementing the CBCS, institutions of higher education need to take the following steps: •     Review of curricular contents (study papers, term papers, assignment, workshop-assignment, experiments etc.) of certificate, diploma, undergraduate, post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes. •     Foundation credits/courses on English language, written and oral communication, and presentation skills for students who might require improvement in these areas. •     In order to make the CBCS more comprehensible to faculty, students and examiners, all the curricular contents are specified, and sub-divided into units and, if need be, into sub-units, which are subsequently assigned numerical values termed as ‘credits’. •     Faculty of the concerned ‘department’ deliberates and decides on (a) core credits, and (b) elective or optional credits for different levels of academic programmes. •     Departmental faculty evaluates and decides on the relative weightage of the core and elective credits. •      Decision has to be taken on the ‘total’ credits to be earned (or completed) by students undergoing certificate, diploma, under-graduate, post-graduate, M.Phil. Or Ph.D. programmes. •     Generally core credits would be unique to the programme and earning core credits would be essential for the completion of the programme and eventually for certification. •      On the other hand, elective credits are likely to overlap with other programmes or disciplines of study (for example, languages, statistics computer application etc.). •     Students enrolled for a particular programme or course would be free to opt and earn elective credits prescribed under the program, or under other programs within the department, faculty, and university or even outside the university/ institution of higher education. 3.    Curriculum Development The hallmark of vibrant educational institutions and disciplines is their curricular content, which evolves continuously and comprehensively. Curricular revision should be an ongoing academic activity involving all the faculty members. Not only does it endows academic programmes with quality but also adds to their contemporariness and relevance. Available information indicates that universities and institutions of higher education in the country do undertake revision of the Syllabi of the programmes offered by them, but priority and periodicity of such remain somewhat uncertain. The process of revision also varies with disciplines, professional and technical disciplines are comparatively more vigorous in this regard. Nonetheless substantial thought and attention have to be devoted to curricular development in all disciplines and in all the academic programmes whether under-graduate, post-graduate, M.Phil. or Ph.D. In a general way, the following steps need to be adopted on priority basis: •     All the academic programmes (certificate, diploma, under-graduate, postgraduate, M.Phil. or Ph.D.) should be subjected to updating or revision, to a limited extent in every academic year (for professional and post-graduate courses) and substantially every three years for all the courses. •      Updating and revision of the curricula is to be carried out in terms of (a) current knowledge, (b) national and international developments, and (c) relevance of new ideas, concepts and knowledge in the concerned discipline. •      This important academic function requires “curricular transaction’ and the synergies of all faculty members in the departments, centers or schools and is based on the principle, of ‘teach and update curriculum’. •     Towards this end, faculty members are called upon to be discerning and given to notes-keeping on current knowledge, especially related to their teaching assignments. •     To achieve this, faculty members are to regularly draw upon books, journals and internet search engines. •     In this regards, UGC promoted INFLIBNET, INFONET, and E-journal would also make for a good resource. •      Faculty members would also have the flexibility to develop, for one or more semesters, topical courses falling within their academic interests and in keeping with the thrust of the programme, along with the indicating of credit values for such courses •     All curricular updates are to be reviewed and endorsed by concerned departmental, schools, committee and other university and college authorities. 4.    Admission Procedure The process of admission of students to educational institutions is the first and most critical step that should ensure access, inclusion, equity and quality. With the fast changing socio-cultural milieu and growing demand for higher education, the importance of the admission process can hardly be over-emphasized. It can no longer left to ‘well-meaning intentions’ and ad hoc decisions. Admissions ought to have objectivity and transparent procedures. As a part of academic reforms, institutions of higher education in the country need to pay very serious attention to the procedures for merit based admission to their certificate, diploma, undergraduate, post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes. In this direction, the following points may be taken into consideration: •      To ensure transparency and credibility in their admission procedure, universities and institutions of higher education need to make liberal use of ‘notice board’, print media, electronic media, websites, etc to declare their admission procedures. •      Institutions and universities need to properly publicize their academic calendar, highlighting the number of seats (in all the courses including M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes), required qualifications and important dates in the admission procedure for various courses. •     The candidates’ admission test needs to be assigned confidential codes, that is, they should be encoded, before being passed on for evaluation/assessment. The candidates for under-graduate, post-graduate or doctoral programmes that have been assessed by recognized national or regional agencies (JET, NET, SET, etc.) may be granted exemption from the written examination. •     Depending upon the course requirements, candidates may also undergo group-discussion, interview or any other competency examination. •     The assessment as reflected in marks or grades obtained in the written examination, group-discussion, interview and / or any other competency examination, must be treated as strictly confidential, and be known to authorities only on ‘need to know’ basis, till the results are finally complied/ announced. •     The marks or grade obtained in the written examination, group-discussion, interview and/or any other competency examination must be communicated, EXAMINATION REFORMS Higher education in India has thus far been largely examination centered. Examination only at the end of academic session or year, more often than not, insulates students from the quest of knowledge, the excitement of discovery and the joy of learning. Often the annual examination, along with marks, percentages and divisions, leads to insensitive cramming up of superficial information. It is therefore not surprising that, in several instances, university certified degree holders are subjected to fresh written examination, before they are accepted for jobs in public and private sectors. Most universities and institutions of higher education in Western Europe and North America base the assessment of their students wholly on “internal evaluation”, following the principle, ‘those who teach should evaluate’. However, considering the prevailing conditions in India, an adoption of this approach would be too radical or abrupt. Given these considerations, it may be more prudent that the assessment of the student performance be carried out. 1.    Internal Evaluation Aiming to assess values, skills and knowledge imbibed by students, internal assessment is to be done by the concerned faculty member, department, school or the centre. All the certificate, diploma, under-graduate, post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. courses offered by a university, college or institute are to have specified components for internal evaluation(e.g. essay, tutorials, term paper, seminar, laboratory work, workshop practice etc.,). Internal assessment may be based on the following guidelines: •     Components of internal evaluation are to have a time frame for completion (by students), and concurrent and continuous evaluation (by faculty members). •     The evaluation outcome may be expressed either by predetermined marks or by grades. The evaluation report submitted by all the faculty members are to be reviewed, from time to time, by the concerned department, school or centre committee, in order to ensure transparency, fair play and accountability. •     Following the review by the department, school or centre committee, the outcome of the internal evaluation is to be announced and displayed on the notice board and /or website as per the decided time frame or academic calendar. 2.    End of Semester Evaluation This is to be carried out at the end of each semester, and will aim to assess skills and knowledge acquired by the students through classroom instruction, field work, and laboratory work and/or workshop practice. The evaluation can be in form of written examination, laboratory work and/or workshop assignment. The evaluation process should be verified and transparent. Towards this end, the following steps may be adopted: •      All the students pursuing certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate and research courses have to undergo external evaluation at the end of each semester as per syllabi or credit schedule. •      With regard to practical and workshop assignment, the internal faculty may associate themselves with external examiners in the examination process. •      In case of written examination, whatever the format (objective type, essay type etc.), test paper could be moderated by committees proficient in the concerned subjects. •     Answer books or -sheets are to be ‘encoded’ (before being passed onto the examiner/evaluator, and decoded before tabulation). 3.    Integration of Continuous and End of Semester Evaluation The following points need to be considered for effecting the integration of continuous and end-of- semester evaluation: •      The integration procedure should be applicable to all the students pursuing certificate, diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. courses. •     University committees on the recommendations of Department committees and concerned faculty should discuss and decide on the relative weightage of continuous and end-of- semester evaluations. This weightage could be flexible and could vary from institution to institution. •     The weightage assigned to internal evaluation may range from 25 to 40 percent. Following the integration of internal and external evaluations, the results may be expressed either in marks, grades or both, as per the policy of the university. •      It will be useful if universities try to go beyond ‘marks’ and ‘divisions’ and, in keeping with the global trend, assign Cumulative Grade Point Score (CGPS) which would place students into overlapping broad bands. •     The CGPS may be based on a 5 point or 10 point scale and it could vary from institution to institution. •     As soon as the integration of internal and external evaluations has been completed, the result should be announced, in keeping with the academic calendar, to facilitate students’ academic or occupational pursuits. SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-1 1.    What is the primary objective of Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)? a)    To provide free primary education to all children in India. b)    To promote quality and access in higher education institutions. c)    To enhance vocational training programs for school students. d)    To establish new schools in rural areas. 2.    Under RUSA, which of the following is a key focus area for improving higher education institutions? a)    Increasing the number of private universities. b)    Developing infrastructure and improving the quality of teaching in government colleges and universities. c)    Providing free textbooks to students in government colleges. d)    Establishing more coaching centers for competitive exams. 3.    RUSA aims to address the issues of equity in higher education by focusing on which of the following? a)    Providing scholarships to all students. b)    Establishing new universities in each state. c)    Supporting the development of institutions in disadvantaged regions and for underrepresented groups. d)    Creating more private institutions with government funding. 4.    Which body is primarily responsible for the implementation of RUSA? a)    Ministry of Health and Family Welfare b)    Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) c)    Ministry of Rural Development d)    Ministry of Science and Technology 5.    What is the role of State Higher Education Councils in the context of RUSA? a)    To fund private institutions under RUSA. b)    To develop a vision and strategy for higher education within the state and oversee RUSA's implementation. c)    To manage the allocation of funds for primary education. d)    To regulate private coaching centers. 6.    RUSA provides financial support for which of the following types of projects? a)    Construction of new private colleges. b)    Upgradation of existing government institutions and infrastructure improvement. c)    Funding international exchange programs for students. d)    Establishing research grants for private institutions. 7.    What is a significant feature of the funding model under RUSA? a)    Entirely funded by the central government with no state contribution. b)    Shared funding model between the central and state governments. c)    Exclusive funding for institutions located in metropolitan areas. d)    Funding is provided solely based on student enrollment numbers. 8.    How does RUSA aim to improve the quality of teaching in higher education institutions? a)    By offering free online courses to all students. b)    By providing financial incentives to private colleges for hiring experienced faculty. c)    By funding faculty development programs and infrastructure improvements in government institutions. d)    By reducing the curriculum load for students. 20.4 CURRENT CHALLANGES 1.    Lack of Data: Any policy making in the area of Internationalization of higher education is constrained by very little data on the basis of which future directions may be charted out. There is a dire need to have exact data regarding both international students in India and Indian students abroad so that specific trends may be properly examined. 2.    Lack of Awareness of International Scenario: Policy makers in India seem to be unaware of the specific international developments, especially concerned with student flows that will have a direct impact on any formulations regarding internationalization of higher education. We must obviously be aware of the current international scenario as any policies made in a vacuum are likely to be counter-productive and harmful. India needs to take this entire situation very seriously and act in a responsible, timely and proactive fashion in order to make the correct policy decisions. 3.    Lack of Infrastructure: There is lack of information about the educational opportunities, international students may avail of in India is a major hurdle in the current scenario. The lack of transparency in processes, unclear, unhelpful administrative policies and the lack of any central information dissemination or assistance rendering mechanism for foreign students, all form a massive block to the internationalization of higher education. Further, it will be very important to develop appropriate infrastructure in terms of hostels, support staff etc. 4.    Lack of clarity in Policy formation: While certain policies regarding Internationalization of higher education are embedded in long-delayed legislations (like the Foreign Education Providers Bill) it is still imperative for a broader policy framework to be put into place regarding all the above points so that Indian Universities may become better equipped to deal with the process of Internationalization. 5.    Lack of Anticipation of Global Developments: India has been tardy in realizing the true potential of the Internationalization of its higher educational sector – in terms of policy, infrastructure, programme formation, awareness etc., – and needs to do a lot of catching up to make up for past mistakes and make full use of the current scenario. SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-2 1.    What is a major challenge faced in policy making for the internationalization of higher education in India? a)    Excessive funding for international programs b)    Lack of data on international students in India and Indian students abroad c)    Overabundance of international partnerships d)    Excessive awareness of global educational trends 2.    Why is the lack of awareness of the international scenario a challenge for India's higher education policy makers? a)    It leads to excessive funding allocations b)    It results in policies being made without considering current international developments affecting student flows c)    It creates an overemphasis on domestic student needs d)    It leads to a surplus of international students 3.    What infrastructure-related issue hampers the internationalization of higher education in India? a)    Overabundance of international students b)    Lack of transparency and clear administrative processes for international students c)    Excessive availability of hostels and support staff d)    High-quality information dissemination mechanisms 4.    What is a significant issue with policy formation regarding the internationalization of higher education in India? a)    Policies are too flexible and frequently updated b)    Policies are embedded in long-delayed legislations and lack a comprehensive framework c)    There is an overabundance of policy frameworks available d)    Policies are too well communicated to international stakeholders 5.    How has India's approach to the internationalization of its higher education sector been characterized? a)    Proactive and ahead of global trends b)    Adequate and well-structured c)    Tardy, with a need for catching up in terms of policy, infrastructure, and program formation d)    Excessively focused on domestic rather than global needs 20.5    SUMMARY The Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA) embodies a multifaceted approach to transforming higher education in India. It emphasizes expansion by supporting the establishment of new universities and colleges, enhancing infrastructure, and increasing enrolment capacity nationwide. Equity lies at the heart of RUSA, aiming to bridge socioeconomic and regional disparities by ensuring equitable access to quality education for all, especially marginalized communities. Simultaneously, RUSA focuses on promoting excellence by fostering research, improving teaching standards, and upgrading educational infrastructure to align with global benchmarks. Recognizing the role of private institutions, RUSA advocates strategic privatization to supplement public efforts, encouraging private investment while maintaining regulatory frameworks to uphold educational standards and affordability. Together, these pillars underpin RUSA’s mission to elevate higher education standards across India, fostering a more inclusive, competitive, and responsive educational landscape. 20.6    GLOSSARY Institutional Restructuring: Reorganizing higher education institutions to enhance their governance, autonomy, and accountability. Affiliation Reforms: Revising the affiliation system of universities to reduce the burden on large universities and promote academic and administrative efficiency. Accreditation: A process of quality assurance in which an institution or its programs are evaluated and recognized for meeting certain predetermined standards. 20.7    ANSWERS TO SELF CHECK EXERCISES SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-1 Answer 1: b) To promote quality and access in higher education institutions. Answer 2: b) Developing infrastructure and improving the quality of teaching in government colleges and universities. Answer 3: c) Supporting the development of institutions in disadvantaged regions and for underrepresented groups. Answer 4: b) Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) Answer 5: b) To develop a vision and strategy for higher education within the state and oversee RUSA's implementation. Answer 6: b) Upgradation of existing government institutions and infrastructure improvement. Answer 7: b) Shared funding model between the central and state governments. Answer 8: c) By funding faculty development programs and infrastructure improvements in government institutions. SELF-CHECK EXERCISE-2 Answer 1: b) Lack of data on international students in India and Indian students abroad Answer 2: b) It results in policies being made without considering current international developments affecting student flows Answer 3: b) Lack of transparency and clear administrative processes for international students Answer 4: b) Policies are embedded in long-delayed legislations and lack a comprehensive framework Answer 5: c) Tardy, with a need for catching up in terms of policy, infrastructure, and program formation 20.8    REFERENCES/ SUGGESTED READINGS Nitin (13 November 2013). "What is Rashtriya Uchchattar Shiksha Abhiyaan (RUSA)?". One India Education. Retrieved 2 February 2014. "Govt launches Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan for bouldering Higher Education". Retrieved 2 February 2014. N. Premananda Singh (25 October 2013). "National Higher Education Mission :: RUSA, a boon for state higher education". E-Pao!. Retrieved 2 February 2014. Press Information Bureau (3 October 2013). "Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan for reforming state higher education system". National Informatics Centre. Ministry of Human Resource Development. "Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan: National Higher Education Mission" (PDF). National Informatics Centre. Retrieved 2 February 2014. 20.9    TERMINAL QUESTIONS Discuss the concept of RUSA in detail with its educational implications in higher education. Discuss the concept of Mid-Day meal. What are the advantages of Mid-Day meal in India? Explain the components of RUSA? What are the challenges in the implementation of RUSA in our country? 353