Samagra Shiksha Scheme

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has given its approval for the continuation of the revised Samagra Shiksha Scheme for a period of five years.

• It has been extended from 2021-22 to 2025-26.

About Samagra Shiksha Scheme

• It is an integrated scheme for school education covering complete pre-primary to senior secondary (up to class 12th). 
• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• Aims: 
  • to universalize access to school education; 
  • to promote equity through the inclusion of disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, and 
  • to improve the quality of education across all levels of school education.
• Objectives: To implement SDG 4, Right to Education and New Education Policy in an inclusive way by emphasising pre-primary school and vocational education.
  • It will also help fulfil the goals of AtmaNirbhar Bharat.

Major interventions across all levels of school education

•  Universal Access including Infrastructure Development and Retention:
  • The existing infrastructure of schools and ITIs and Polytechnics will be made available for both school-going children and for out of school children.
  • Strengthening of the infrastructure of schools from pre-primary to senior secondary, (earlier pre-primary was excluded).
• Foundational Literacy and Numeracy:
  • NIPUN Bharat: National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy
    • Aim: To ensure that every child achieves the desired learning competencies in reading, writing and numeracy at the end of grade III and not later than grade V.
• Gender and Equity:
  • Incinerator and sanitary pad vending machines in all girls’ hostels.
  • Training for inculcating self-defence skills under ‘Rani Laxmibai Atma Raksha Prashikshan’
• Inclusive Education:
  • For out of school SC, ST and disabled children between the age of 16 to 19 years, support will be provided to complete their secondary/senior secondary levels.
• Quality and Innovation:
  • Holistic Progress Card (HPC): 
    • It will be a holistic, 360-degree, multi-dimensional report showing the progress/ uniqueness of each learner in the cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
  • Support for PARAKH, a national assessment centre. 
    • PARAKH stands for Performance, Assessments, Review and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development.
• Digital initiatives: 
  • All child-centric interventions will be provided directly to the students through DBT mode.
• Support for National Early Childhood Care And Education (ECCE):
  • Training of Master Trainers for the training of Anganwadi workers 
  • In-service teacher training for ECCE teachers.
• Vocational Education:
  • Provision for, internships with local artisans, curriculum and pedagogical reforms etc have been included.
• Sports and Physical Education:
  • Additional Sports grant to schools in case at least 2 students of that school win a medal in Khelo India school games at the National level.
• Strengthening of Teacher Education and Training:
  • Specific training modules under NISHTHA by NCERT to train Secondary teachers and Primary teachers
• Monitoring:
  • It will be done by an Assessment Cell set at the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT.)
  • Support for Social Audit covering 20% of schools per year so that all schools are covered in a period of Five years.
• Programme Management:
  •  At the central level, the following will manage the programme.
    • Governing Council/Body headed by the Minister of Education 
    • Project Approval Board (PAB) headed by Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy
  • At the state Level, a single State Implementation Society (SIS) will be set up.
• National Component:  
  • Convergence of different ministries. eg. The Skill Ministry will impart vocational training.

Source: PIB