District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)

District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)

The Centrally-Sponsored Scheme of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP)  was launched in 1994 as a major initiative to revitalize the primary education system and to achieve the objective of universalisation of primary education. DPEP is an externally aided project. 85 per cent of the project cost is met by the Central Government and the remaining 15 per cent is shared by the concerned State Government.

DPEP is based on the principle of “additionally” and is structured to fill in the existing gaps by providing inputs over and above the provisions made under central and state sector schemes for primary education. The state governments are required to at least maintain expenditure in real terms at base year level.

The (DPEP) programme consists of a scheme spread over seven years to achieve the following:

1. Decentralized and participatory planning and administration at the district level, involving village leadership, NGOs, schools, district and block personnel. 

2.  Specific strategies to increase enrolment and retention of girls, SC and ST students (identified as gender, caste and tribe 'gaps' in primary education). 

3. Focus on enhancing capacities of teachers by providing workshops for teachers and production of new teaching learning materials to improve student achievement of learning. 

4.  Administrative capacity building at the district and block levels. 

5.  Collection of data and setting up an Education Management and Information System (EMIS)

The basic objectives of DPEP are:

1.   To provide all children access to primary education through either the formal or non-formal stream.

2.   To reduce differences in enrolment, drop-out rates and learning achievement among gender and weaker section groups to less than five percent.

3.   To reduce overall primary dropout rates for all children to less than 10 percent.

4.   To rise the average achievement rate by 25 percent by measured baseline level and ensuring achievement of basic literacy and numeracy competencies and minimum of 40 percent achievement in other competencies by all primary education children.

The DPEP has made decisive impact on increasing enrolment, reducing stagnation and improving class-room transaction. DPEP is an externally aided project. 85 percent of the project cost is met by the Central Government and the remaining 15 percent is shared by the concerned state government. The central government share is resourced through external assistance.

1. DPEP has so far opened more than 1,60,000 new schools, including almost 84,000 alternative schooling (AS) centres. The AS centres cover nearly 3.5 million children, while another two lakh children are covered by Bridge Courses of different types;
2. The school infrastructure created under DPEP has been remarkable. Works either complete or in progress include 52758 school buildings, 58,604 additional classrooms, 16,619 resource centers, 29,307 repair works, 64,592 toilets, and 24,909 drinking water facilities,
3. The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for Phase-I states was around 93 to 95 per cent for the last three years. After the adjustment for the Alternative Schools/Education Guarantee Centers enrolment, the GER in the 2001-02 works out above 100 per cent. In the districts covered under subsequent phases of DPEP, the GER including enrolment of AS/EGS was above 85 per cent;
4. The enrolment of girls has shown significant improvement. In DPEP-I districts, the share of girls enrolment in relation to total enrolment has increased from 48 per cent to 49 per cent, while this increase in the subsequent phases of DPEP districts has been from 46 per cent to 47 per cent;
5. The total number of differently bled children enrolled is now more than 4,20,203 which represents almost 76 per cent of the nearly 5,53,844 differently-abled children identified in the DPEP States;
6. Village Education Committees/School Management Committees have been setup in almost all project villages/habitations/schools,
7. About 1,77,000 teachers, including para-teachers/Shiksha Karmis have been appointed;
8. About 3,380 resource centers at block level and 29,725 centers at cluster level have been set-up for providing academic support and teacher training facilities.

Conclusion

The foregoing discussion notes that the District Primary Education Programme is one of the most significant policy interventions since independence. The DPEP addressed the issue of primary education in holistic perspective, evolved suitable institutional mechanisms for implementation. As a piece in policy evaluation research, DPEP affords a challenging opportunity to the students of public policy as a major effort at including the excluded. More studies are needed to strengthen the programme both in terms of policy and implementation.

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)

Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA)

The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan is a flagship scheme of Government of India, launched in March, 2009, to enhance access to secondary education and improve its quality. The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10 to generate human capital and provide sufficient conditions for accelerating growth and development and equity as also quality of life for everyone in India.

Currently in its fourth year of implementation, RMSA covers 50,000 government and local body secondary schools. Besides this, an additional of 30,000 aided secondary schools can also access the benefits of RMSA; but not infrastructure and support in core areas.

Factual Information:

• Launched in 2009
• Targeted Teacher : Student ratio = 1:30

Ministry/Department: Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development

Goals & Objectives:

• Establishing Secondary School within a radius of 5kms.
• Achieving 75% access by 2012-13 and 100% access by 2017-18.
• Achieving 100% retention by 2020.
• Providing necessary physical facilities, teaching and non – teaching staff for every secondary school
• To see that no student shall be deprived of secondary education because of gender disparity, socioeconomic reasons, disability or any other reasons.

·         To enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality

Core Purpose of RMSA

The core purpose and long term aim of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) is as follows:

1. To improve the overall quality of education imparted at the secondary level. And this is possible by through making all secondary schools conform to all the norms that the authority prescribes to.
2. To remove barriers of gender, socio-economic and disability. These barriers are more like social prejudices which only interfere with the process of widening one’s mindset.
3. Further, universal access to secondary level education by 2017 (which is the XII Five Year Plan).
4. Rather ambitious goals of universal retention of students by the year 2020.

Scheme:

• The scheme envisages to enhance the enrolment at secondary stage by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation, with an aim to ensure GER of 100% by 2017, i.e., by the end of 12th Five Year Plan and
• Achieving universal retention by 2020.
• The scheme provides financial support for additional class rooms, labs, art rooms, toilet blocks, drinking water facilities, residential hostels, appointment of additional teachers, teacher’s training etc.

Major Heads of the RMSA

There are 4 major heads or chief-in-charge of the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan.

• Quality improvement. In schools, there was a promotion of environmental education and science laboratories. In addition, RMSA looks into the promotion of central sponsorship schemes of the population education project, international mathematics and science Olympiads. The state governments also provide in-service training for the teachers, infrastructure and research inputs.

• Access and equity. RMSA does not only emphasize on providing secondary education for the special focus groups but also gives importance on removing the existing disparities in socio-economic and gender background in the secondary level of education.

• Information communication technologies (ICT). Due to a rise in IT demand in, importance is given on ITC. Components of a merged scheme ICT in school include funding support towards computer education plans; strengthening and reorientation of the staffs; digitization using audio and video cassettes with the partnership of NGOs; and management of Internet-based education.

• Integrated education for disabled children (IEDC): It includes several components for convergence with integrated child development services for early interventions, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) for the particular group at the elementary level, and special schools.

Framework:

• The scheme is being implemented by the State government societies established for implementation of the scheme.
• The central share is released to the implementing agency directly.
• The applicable State share is also released to the implementing agency by the respective State Governments.

Activities taken up under RMSA

• Construction of Additional Classrooms for quality improvement in the school infrastructure and school buildings are strengthened

• Laboratory construction of integrated Science Laboratory of Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics for quality learning

• Laboratory Equipment providing laboratory equipment for the newly constructed laboratories. Providing grant for existing laboratories for the purchase of additional equipment

• Supply of Furniture and Equipment furniture of Headmaster room, Office room, Computer room, Art/Craft, & Library

• Separate Toilet blocks for boys and girls & drinking water facility for all secondary schools

• Annual grants for Schools: Rs. 50,000 annual grant is given to all schools for the purchase of teaching Learning Material, Games equipment, Music, Drawing, Art education material and maintenance

• Minor Repair grants: Every secondary school having own building will be given Rs. 25,000 annually for Minor repairs of the School

• Major Repair grants for Schools: Annual Grants for major repairs to the class rooms having own building will be given Rs.2.00 Lakhs maximum for having two sections and Rs.4.00 Lakhs maximum for having 4 sections

• Laboratory maintenance grants: For the purchase of laboratory equipment maintenance Rs. 25,000 will be provided.

• Library, News Paper grants:For every secondary school library books worth Rs.1.00 Lakh would be provided. Rs. 10,000 for every school for the purchase of magazines, news papers and purchase of new books to the library will be provided annually.

Progress Made Under RMSA

• It is decided to inaugurate additional class rooms in 1000 Secondary School

• In the year 2010-11 additional class rooms to 487 Secondary Schools were sanctioned preparatory activities for construction are under progress

• In-service Teacher Training: Total of 49,836 teachers were trained for 5 days in a residential mode during the summer vacation of 2009-10 in the school subjects. In the year 2010-11 during summer vacation a total of 38,136 teachers were trained for 5 days in a residential mode

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA)

The Ministry of Human Resource Development is the nodal agency administering the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) program. It receives the budget targets of participating States, reviews/ analyzes them and then gives approvals and makes disbursements.

Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), launched in 2013 aims at providing strategic funding to eligible state higher educational institutions. The funding, in the ratio of 60: 40 (Central: State Governments) for general category States, would be norm based and outcome dependent. The funding would flow from the central ministry through the state governments/union territories to the identified institutions.

Vision:

To attain higher levels of access, equity and excellence in the State higher education system with greater efficiency, transparency, accountability and responsiveness.

Objectives

The key objectives of RUSA are to improve access, equity and quality in higher education through planned development of higher education at the state level.

Objectives include

                                      i.      Creating new academic institutions,

                                    ii.      Expanding and upgrading the existing ones,

Developing institutions that are self-reliant in terms of quality education, professionally managed, and characterized by greater inclination towards research and provide students with education that is relevant to them as well the nation as a whole.

·         Improve the overall quality of state institutions by ensuring conformity to prescribed norms and standards and adopt accreditation as a mandatory quality assurance framework

·         Usher transformative reforms in the state higher education system by creating a facilitative institutional structure for planning and monitoring at the state level, promoting autonomy in State Universities and improving governance in institutions

·          Ensure reforms in the affiliation, academic and examination systems

·          Ensure adequate availability of quality faculty in all higher educational institutions and promote capacity building at all levels of employment

·          Create an enabling atmosphere in the higher educational institutions to promote research and innovation

·          Expand institutional base by creating additional capacity in existing institutions and establish new institutions, to achieve higher enrollment

·          Correct the regional imbalances in terms of access to higher education by setting up institutions in un-served and underserved areas of the country

·          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

Major impact and Targets

·         RUSA seeks to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio of the country to 30% by 2020

·         It also seeks to increase the spending on higher education by the State Governments.

·         The scheme, in its 2nd phase (2017 - 2020), aims at creation of 70 new model degree colleges and 8 new professional colleges; Enhancing quality and Excellence in 10 select State universities and 70 autonomous colleges, providing infrastructural support to 50 universities and 750 colleges etc.

·         Improving access, equity and accessibility of higher education in Slates through reforms such as academic reforms, governance reforms, affiliation reforms etc.

·         Improve equity in higher education by providing adequate opportunities of higher education to socially deprived communities; promote inclusion of women, minorities, SC/ST/OBCs and differently abled persons.

·         To identity and fill up the existing gaps in higher education, by augmenting and supporting the State Governments' efforts.

·         Promote a spirit of healthy competition amongst states and institutions to excel in quality higher education, research and innovation.

 Components

RUSA would create new universities through up gradation of existing autonomous colleges and conversion of colleges in a cluster. It would create new model degree colleges, new professional colleges and provide infrastructural support to universities and colleges. Faculty recruitment support, faculty improvements programmes and leadership development of educational administrators are also an important part of the scheme.

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:

·               Creation of Universities by way of up gradation of existing autonomous colleges

·               Creation of Universities by conversion of colleges in a cluster

·               Infrastructure grants to Universities

·               Enhancing  Quality and Excellence in select State Universities 

·               New Model Colleges (General)

·               Up gradation of existing degree colleges to model colleges

·               New Colleges (Professional)

·               Enhancing Quality and Excellence in Autonomous colleges

·               Infrastructure grants to Colleges

·               Research, innovation and quality improvement

·               Equity initiatives

·               Faculty Recruitment Support

·               Faculty improvements

·               Institutional Restructuring, Capacity Building and Reforms

·               National Higher Education Resource Centre

Scope of RUSA

Strategic funding of state institutions must ensure that the issues of quality and access are addressed in an equitable manner. This would entail encouraging the states to prepare State Higher Education Plan duly keeping the following aspects in mind:

                                         i.      Spatial and regional planning after due mapping

                                       ii.      Programme and discipline planning

                                     iii.      Mandatory accreditation and quality improvement

                                     iv.      Reforms – governance and academic

                                       v.      Infrastructure saturation

                                     vi.      Review of the affiliation system

                                   vii.      Transparent and norm-based funding

                                 viii.      Outcome-based reimbursements

                                     ix.      Faculty planning

                                       x.      Equity interventions

                                     xi.      Focus on research and innovation

RUSA will be implemented through the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) of the Government of India as a “Centrally Sponsored Scheme” with matching contribution from the state governments and Union Territories (UTs).

Priorities and Strategies

The priorities of the state are:

§   Quality Assurance

§   Access and Equity

§   Infrastructure Development

§   Faculty Recruitment

§   Research and innovation

I. Quality assurance

• N.A.A.C. assessment for all the institutions is mandatory. Only 12 Colleges of the state have been accredited so far.
• Necessary grants are to be provided to help institutions within the state for undergoing assessment.

II. Access and Equity

• Provide greater opportunities of access to Higher Education with equity to all the eligible persons and in particular to the vulnerable sections and rural population.
• Expand access by supporting existing institutions, establishing new institutions, to remove imbalances that exist at present.

III. Infrastructure Development

• Thrust on infrastructure development of institutions corresponding to their academic requirements
• Necessary grants are to be provided on a need-based to the institutions within the state.

IV. Capacity Building in Students

• Introduction of job oriented and industrially relevant courses / vocational courses (certificate, Diploma, Degree) to build capacities in students for self employments
• Introducing Remedial classes/ Tutorials/ Career guidance
• Necessary grants are to be provided to the institutions within the state having or willing to introduce such courses/ classes.

IV. Faculty Recruitment

• High Teacher-Student ratio adversely affects quality teaching in the institutions of higher education.
• To promote the quality of Higher Education by lowering the Teacher-Student ratio.
• Incorporating I.C.T. based teaching - learning, virtual classroom to bridge the gaps of shortage of teachers.
• Necessary grants are to be provided to the institutions with high Teacher-Student ratio or institutions introducing new courses/ classes.

V. Research and Innovation

• Lack of opportunity for Research and Development/ limited publications;
• Enhancing Library resource materials and Laboratories.
• To promote Institutions/ Faculty way of providing grants and facilities that support research in different institutions

Conclusion

RUSA is considered as one of the affirmative step which aims to change the Indian Higher Education Landscape radically. Besides routine monitoring of schemes, there is pressing need to evaluate and integrate recommendations from various Reports commissioned by a variety of Committees of the UGC, the MHRD and by independent researchers to ensure a more comprehensive evaluation of various dimensions of higher education in India, including equity in access, in the quality of education and in attainment.