CONFERENCE OF

STATE EDUCATION MINISTERS

AGENDA ITEMS
&
BACKGROUND NOTES




22
nd
FEBRUARY, 2012
at 11.00 A.M. at
Hotel Ashok, New Delhi









MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
2
Agenda & Background Notes for the Conference of
State Education Ministers


22nd February, 2012 at 11.00 A.M.

Venue: Banquet Hall
Ashok Hotel, New Delhi.

1. Confirmation of minutes of State
Education Conferences held on 8th
June,2011 and 19th Oct. 2011

Annex-1
&
Annex-2
2. Introduction of a common eligibility
examination for higher education in
science and engineering

3-6
3. Vocational Education

7-9
4. Community Colleges in XII Plan

10-11
5. Curricular renewal for Elementary
Education of equitable quality

12-19
6. Grievances Redressal Under RTE Act

20-25





3
AGENDA1:INTRODUCTIONOFACOMMONELIGIBILITYEXAMINATION
FORHIGHEREDUCATIONINSCIENCEANDENGINEERING

Students seeking admission to professional programmes of studies at the

undergraduate level are presently required to appear in a multitude of entrance
examinationsconductedatvariouslevels,i.e.attheleveloftheinstitutionorbya
consortiums of institutions (both State and National level) or by the State
agencies on behalf of all institutions either at the State or National level. The
standards of these entrance examinations vary widely. The burden thereby
imposedonthestudentsintermsoftime,money(examinationfee)andthestress
caused in scheduling and preparing for each examination is tremendous. The
students have to perforce restrict their choice of institutions for which they can
compete based on the scheduling arrived at. The anxiety and trauma of the
studentsandparentshavebeenhighlightedonnumerousoccasions.

2. However, in case the multiplicity of entrance examinations is to be

avoided, it becomes incumbent to develop an acceptable testing mechanism
whichmayprovidefor:-

Choicetothestudentswithopportunitiestoimprove
Flexibilitytotheinstitutioninstructuringitsadmissionprocess
Testing structured in a manner that is perceived as transparent, fair,
reasonableandreliable
Diversity in learning outcomes at the secondary level without
compromisingonitsabilitytoindicatemerit
Objective and discernable criteria that account for differences in the
socio-economicbackgroundofstudents
A testing agency which is cost-neutral with a mechanism to share
revenuewiththeStateAgencies.

3. While the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) conducted by IITs has

enabled the IITs to attract the best talent in the country, by 90s all other
institutions in the country such as NITs, Technical Universities, deemed
4
universities and other technical institutions in different states started their
entrance examinations. This resulted in an explosive growth in the number of
entrance examinations with students in their desperation attempting multiple
examinations with differing syllabi. The multiplicity of entrance examinations in
the country came to be associated with multiple unfair practices, such as
coachingindustry,studentsshunningregularclassroomteachingandsometimes
questionablecredibilityoftheprocessofexaminationitself.

4. The situation was reviewed by Chandy committee. It was found that a

strongcorrelationexistedbetweentheschoolboardperformanceofastudentand
his or her performance in IITs. The issue was examined by Acharya Committee.
This committee recommended that there should be one examination for the
entrance purposes. The issue was further examined by Ramasami Committee
whichcametotheconclusionthattheiroughttobeasinglenationalexamination
to test for aptitude and advanced domain knowledge or for aptitude alone to
supplementtheperformanceintheclassXIIthexamination.Thesalientfeatures
ofthisreportareasfollows:-

The Committee, based on a pilot testing carried by the Indian Statistical

Institute in respect of the evaluation made for 3-4 years for the four
selectedBoards(CBSE,ISE,TamilNaduBoardandWestBengalBoard),
cametotheconclusionthatastatisticalmethodfornormalizationofschool
board scores was feasible. For admission to the undergraduate
programmes in Science and Engineering, weightage is to be given to the
marks obtained by the student in class XIIth board examination after
scientificstatisticalnormalizationoftheperformancevis--vistheaverage
performance of other students appearing in the respective board
examination.
The common eligibility test should consist of two parts. The first part, an
objectivetypetest,willtesttheabilitiesofcomprehension,criticalthinking,
logical reasoning and similar such abilities of students. The second test
would be based on the problem solving abilities of a student for basic
science subjects. Both these tests should as far as possible, indicate the
scholasticlevelandaptitudeforscienceandengineering.
5
Theprocessofadmissionshouldbeconsideredbyindividualsystemsuch
as IIT, NIT, Technical University separately. The common eligibility test
shouldprovidethebasicthreescoresthescoreofaptitudetestorMAIN
asitiscallednow,thescoreofADVANCEandtheequivalentscoreofthe
Board examination. These three scores should available to a student for
seeking admission in a science or engineering course in the country. The
specific weightage to be given to each of these three components will be
decidedbytheacademicinstitution(s)/StateGovernment(s).

5. The Ramasami committee had given various models for considering the
combination of weightages. However, it was felt that the three elements
mentionedaboveshouldcovertherequirementsofallinstitutions.Itishopedthat
the proposed changes will be acceptable to both centrally funded technical
institutionsaswellasstatelevelacademicinstitutions.

6. FollowingtheacceptanceofRamasamicommitteereport,itisproposedto
conduct a single test that can be called as INDIAN SCIENCE-ENGINEERING
ELIGIBILITY TEST 2013 (ISEET 2013, in short). The ISEET 2013 will have two
parts, namely, ISEETMain and ISEET-Advance. Each examination will be of
three hour duration and will be held on one single day. The examination ISEET
shallbeconductedonAprilorMay,2013.TheISEETMainwillbeconductedfrom
1000 Hours till 1200 Hours. The ISEET Advance will be conducted from 1400
Hourstill1700Hours.

7. For admission, a students performance at School Board Examination at

the end of (10+2) level will be taken into account which would not be less than
40% of the scores. Besides this school board performance, it has been
recommendedthatsomeweightagewillbegiventotheperformanceofastudent
inaMainexamination,tobecalledasISEET2013Main,andsomeweightageto
the Advance examination of ISEET 2013. However, the weightage accorded for
theperformanceintheschoolboardcangooveruptoeven100%.Thecombined
weightage for the Main and the Advance paper under ISEET shall not, in any
case, exceed 60%. It is for the each educational institution/ State Govt. to spell
6
out the specific weightages to the scores achieved in school Board, Main and
Advanceexaminations.

8. While the ISEET 2013 is proposed to be conducted by CBSE, with

academic responsibility being entrusted to an Academic Group under the
guidance of Director, IIT-Kanpur, the modalities of transfer of data from school
BoardstoISEETorganizationneedstobeworkedout.Thescheduleofdatesfor
declaration of results of ISEET and School Boards needs to be coordinated so
that a composite score card could be prepared in the given time frame. It would
be up to each institution/ groups of institutions/ State agencies to carry out the
taskofcounsellingandfinallytheadmissioninacoordinatedmanner.

9. The above methodology does not curtail the autonomy of Universities/

InstitutionsandtheStatestostructuretheirownadmissionprocessbutprovides
for a standardized frame of reference for evaluating inter-se merit amongst
applicants.Theprevalenceofcategorization(reservationforcastes,sportsquota,
ex-servicemen quota, etc.) in the admission process can also be continued
unhindered as the score and criteria of applicants from a particular category or
class would be inter-se comparable at the institutional end subscribing to the
categorizationpoliciesexistingattheStatelevel.

10. The State Governments are requested to kindly deliberate the issue and
take a view on the implementation of the recommendations of the Ramasami
Committee w.r.t. science and engineering entrance examinations at the state
level.

***

7
AGENDA2: VOCATIONALEDUCATION
1. NationalVocationalEducationQualificationsFramework(NVEQF)
TheMinistryisintheprocessofdevelopingtheNVEQF,whichwouldlead
toequivalencybetweenvocationalandgeneraleducation.TheNVEQFwouldset
common principles and guidelines for a nationally recognized qualification
system, covering schools, vocational education institutes and institutes of higher
education with qualifications ranging from secondary to doctorate level (1-10),
leadingtointernationalrecognitionofnationalstandards.Theframeworkwillbea
competency based modular approach with provision for credit accumulation and
transfer. Eventually all organised/unorganised and industrial/non industrial
sectors are proposed to be brought into its ambit. Sector Skill Councils (SSC)
have been set up by the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in IT,
Retail, Security, Automobile and Energy sectors. SSC is to be set up in
agriculturealso.Linkagebetweeneducationprovidersandemployerswouldbea
pre-requisiteforimprovingtheemployabilityofthevocationalpassouts.
India has a rich tradition of craftsman and artisans. Recognition of Prior
LearningundertheFrameworkwouldenabletheskillsofthesemastercraftsmen
to be recognized and certified, enabling further honing of skills and/or
engagementasmastertrainers.Testingandcertificationofknowledgeandskills
thatanindividualhasacquiredinprevioustrainingandthroughworkexperience,
willenablehimtoachieveparticularlevelsofcompetencies,thusmainstreaming
his expertise. Bridge courses to fill literacy and numeracy competency gaps, if
any, would be provided by National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS)/State
Open Schools, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)/State Open
Universities.Thiswouldenablepreservationofourrichheritage.
The Framework would bring about uniformity in standards of vocational
courses being offered, by registration of NVEQs and accreditation of programs
and institutions. NVEQ levels will be introduced in secondary and higher
secondaryschools,Polytechnics,Universities&Collegesforseamlesspathways
andprogression.Therewouldbeashiftfromthepresentfragmentedtoaunified
vocational education governance. This would pave the way for imparting locally
relevant education leading to skill development and enhancement of
8
employability,arrestingdropoutsandalsobringingbackschooldropoutsintothe
foldofformalandinformalVE
Thereformsareenvisagedtobringaboutaperceptionchangeintheway
society views vocational education and restore its relevance in enhancing the
employabilityofthecountrysyouth.
The processes leading to the present stage in the development of the
NVEQFaresummedupasfollows:
1. TheworkingdocumentforNVEQFhasbeenpreparedbytheCoordination
Committee constituted for the purpose. 10 NVEQ levels, starting from
ClassIXhavebeenlaiddown.
2. A Group of State Education Ministers in charge of vocational education
was constituted for development of the NVEQF and laying down a road
mapforitsimplementation.Thereportwassubmittedtoandapprovedby
Honble HRM. The report has been sent to Education Ministers and
SecretariesofallStatesandUTsforperusalandneedful.
3. The draft NVEQF was presented and endorsed by the Central Advisory
Board of Education (CABE) and the State Education Ministers in the
meetingsheldon7
th
and8
th
June2012respectively.
4. National Occupation Standards (NOS) have been prepared by NSDC for
the automobile, retail, security and IT sectors. The course content and
curriculum are being prepared by Pandit Sunderlal Sharma Central
InstituteofVocationalEducationandCBSEonITandautomobile.
5. The draft Note for seeking approval of Cabinet on NVEQF has been sent
forinterMinisterialconsultations.
2. VocationalEducationinSecondarySchools(levels1-4oftheNVEQF)
The Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) Vocationalisation of Secondary
Education was launched in 1988, to be implemented through State/UTs and
NGOs/VAintheformalandnon-formalsectorrespectivelyinClassesXI-XII.The
Schemeenvisagedselectionofvocationalcoursesonthebasisofassessmentof
manpowerneeds.Themainobjectivesofthescheme,asspeltoutintheNational
Policy on Education 1986, were to provide diversification of educational
9
opportunities so as to enhance individual employability, reduce the mismatch
betweendemandandsupplyofskilledmanpowerandtoprovideanalternativefor
those pursuing higher education. Vocational Education was made a distinct
stream intended to prepare students for identified occupations spanning several
areas of activities. Since inception of the scheme, 9,619 schools with about
21,000 sections have been created with an intake capacity of about 10.03 lakhs
students.About150vocationalcourseswerebeingoffered.
The weaknesses in the existing scheme included no provision for vertical
and horizontal mobility for students of vocational stream, grossly inadequate
linkage of schools with industry, paucity of trained teachers, low quality teaching
learning and instructional material, absence of constant updating of curriculum
andcoursecontentnotintunewithrequirementofindustry.Therevisedscheme
aimstoaddressthesegapstostrengthenvocationaleducationinClassesXI-XII.
The following components have been approved for implementation in the
remainingperiodoftheXIPlani.e.2011-12:
i. Strengthening of 1000 existing vocational schools and establishment of
100newvocationalschoolsthroughStateGovernments.
ii. Assistanceto500vocationalschoolsunderPPPmode.
iii. In-service training of 7 days for 2000 existing vocational education
teachers and induction training of 30 days for 1000 new vocational
educationteachers
iv. Development of 250 competency based modules for each individual
vocationalcourse.
v. Establishment of a Vocational Education Cell within the Central Board of
SecondaryEducation(CBSE)
vi. Assistance to 150 reputed NGOs to run short duration innovative
vocationaleducationprogrammes.
vii. PilotprogrammeoftheNVEQFinClassIXinHaryanaandWestBengal
An Executive Council under the chairmanship of the Minister of Human
Resource Development, with representation from all concerned Ministries,
organisationsand5States,inrotation,hasbeenconstituted.
***
10
AGENDA3: COMMUNITYCOLLEGESINXIIPLAN
A Community College is different from both a College and a Polytechnic
granting an associate degree after 2 years of enrolment and passing the
requisiteprogramme.Withthecontinuingdemand-supplymismatch,wheresome
colleges have cut-offs as high as 100% and setting impossible exclusion targets
while others struggle to get the minimum number of students, it is imperative to
ensure a seat for a local student seeking higher education in a College /
Institutioninthedistrictinwhichhe/sheresides,basedonlocalneed,employer
satisfactionandstudentinterest.Thus,theconceptofCommunityCollegeshould
be such that anybody who wants to go to Community College must be allowed
and academic excellence should not be a barrier, although the level to which a
studentenrollshastobedecidedonindividualevaluation.
Community Colleges granting associate degree, which could be introduced
throughRegulationsandthatAutonomousCollegesrecognizedbyUGCtohave
PotentialforExcellencecouldcommenceoperationsasaCommunityCollegeas
well. Community Colleges may have a few or many disciplines based on the
needsandemploymentpotential.SomeincentivesfromtheGovernmentcouldbe
provided to the institutions acting as Community Colleges in shifts when normal
Collegesdonotutilizetheirlaboratories/classrooms(infrastructure).Thesecould
be mandatorily accredited by the accrediting agencies on satisfaction of set
normsandwithmandatorydisclosures.
Community Colleges could be operationalized from existing Colleges /
Polytechnicsnearindustriesand/orwhereemploymentopportunitiesexisttotake
advantageofthelocalindustryneedandopportunityofemployment.However,it
wouldbebetterifCommunityCollegesarestartedonapilotbasis(about100or
so)in2012-13andthenafterevaluationscaledupgraduallyratherthansetthem
up in one go. Accordingly, in 2012-13, 80 Colleges from the UGC list of 12B
recognized institutions and 20 Polytechnics in the Government System may be
identified by UGC-AICTE in consultation with the respective State Governments
for implementing the Community College Programme. Expression of Interest
(EOI) may be floated thereafter by the three-Member Committee, UGC-AICTE-
11
DEC, which can set up a mechanism for screening applications and for
assistancebasedonsetnorms.
Asaresultofthis,itisexpectedthataroundonelakhadditionalstudentscan
getaccessthroughthese100Colleges/Polytechnicsandthenumberwouldrise
asimplementationprogresses.Thisisexpectedtoensureanincreaseineffective
GER.

***

12
AGENDA4: CURRICULARRENEWALFORELEMENTARYEDUCATION
OFEQUITABLEQUALITY

RTE-SSAPROGRAMME

1. The issue of quality of elementary education is a matter of deep concern.

The need for curricular reform and reduction in curricular overload had been
strongly emphasised by the National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005, which
stated:

The size of textbooks has been growing over the years, even as the
pressure to include new topics mounts and the effort to synthesise
knowledge and treat it holistically gets weaker. Flabby textbooks, and the
syllabi they cover, symbolise a systemic failure to address children in a
child-centredmanner.

2. NCERT has produced exemplar syllabiandtextbooksbasedontheNCF-
2005formulations.Theseweredevelopedinaphasedmannerandhavebeenin
usesince2006-07.

3. TheDepartmentofSchoolEducationandLiteracyconductedfourregional
workshops in 2009-10 aimed at (i) arriving at a shared understanding on
education of equitable quality, (ii) developing a common vision of a school that
would manifest this quality, (iii) evolving a broad three year perspective within
which states could locate their AWP of 2010-11, (iv) establishing a 'unity of
thought' and 'commonality of purpose' across different implementation agencies.
This was followed up by another four workshops in 2010-11 to enable States to
develop a quality action plan. Many States have developed a State Vision of
Qualitypursuanttotheseworkshops.

4. Several States have reportedly initiated curricular reform, but such reform
at the elementary stage of education has not been particularly radical or
significant, and a lot of age-inappropriate material continues to form part of the
textbooks and teaching learning material used in classrooms. The fear that
deletionofanyconceptintheearlyclasses,howeverage-inappropriateitmaybe,
will result in dilution of standards has prevented States from taking necessary
measures. In many schools additional and non-prescribed textbooks are also
used,addingfurthertotheteachinglearningload.
13

An example of age-inappropriate textbook material:
:| =isn| +| n i=+||, + |s +| a= | |||
=|+ + +s +| |||, |s =n| == n| |||

5. RTE compels us to revisit the curriculum, syllabus and teaching learning
materialinordertoguaranteeeightyearsofqualityeducationtoeverychild.Itis
importanttoensurethatwedonotmisstheopportunityprovidedbytheRTEAct.
In this context the Department of School Education and Literacy has issued an
AdvisorytoStateGovernmentsundertheRTEAct,whichisreproducedbelow:
14
F.No.1-15/2010EE4
GovernmentofIndia
MinistryofHumanResourceDevelopment
DepartmentofSchoolEducationandLiteracy

ShastriBhawan,NewDelhi,31
st
January,2012

Advisory on implementation of the provisions of section 29 of the Right of

ChildrentoFreeandCompulsoryEducation(RTE)Act,2009reg.

1. Section 29(1) of the RTE Act provides that the curriculum and
evaluation procedure for elementary education shall be laid down by an
academic authority specified by the appropriate Government. Section 29(2)
lays down the factors which need to be taken into consideration by the
academic authority notified by the States for preparing the curriculum and
evaluationprocedure,namely:

(a) ConformitywithConstitutionalvalues;
(b) Allrounddevelopmentofthechild;
(c) Buildingupthechildsknowledge,potentialityandtalent;
(d) Developmentofphysicalandmentalabilitiestothefullestextent;
(e) Learningthroughactivities,discoveryandexplorationinachildfriendly
andchild-centredmanner;
(f) The childs mother tongue serving as far as practicable as the
mediumofinstruction;
(g) Makingthechildfreeoffear,traumaandanxietyandhelpingthechild
toexpressviewsfreelyand
(h) Comprehensiveandcontinuousevaluationofthechildsunderstanding
andknowledgeandtheabilitytoapplyit.

2. The Central Government has also notified the National Council for
Education Research and Training (NCERT) as the academic authority for
preparingtheframeworkofnationalcurriculumundersection7(6)oftheRTE
Act. The National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 prepared by NCERT
has been accepted as the curriculum framework till further directions in the
matter.Therefore,inimplementingtheprovisionsofsection29,theacademic
15
authority notified by the appropriate Governments shall ensure adherence to
childcentredprinciplesofNCF2005.

3. The following guidelines are issued for the academic authority to

implementtheprovisionsofsection29.

(a) Formulate age-appropriate curricula and syllabi in keeping with NCF-

2005: The curriculum and syllabus document should be an explicit document
indicating the goals and aims of education. This should address questions,
such as, what is worth teaching, how much should be taught in a particular
class, and in what sequence, with what methods and materials, the linkages
acrossdifferentaspectsofknowledge,howteachersshouldbepreparedand
childrenslearningassessed,andhowschoolsshouldbemonitored.

There is a tendency to burden the curricula and syllabi with concepts which
are not age appropriate. This often happens on account of a top-down
approachtocurriculumandsyllabusformulation.Curriculaandsyllabishould
be prepared from class I upwards, based on what is age-appropriate for
children, rather than by first fixing the curricula/syllabi for higher classes and
working downwards. Educational research regarding the inter-relationship
about age and concept needs to be kept in mind while formulating the
curriculum.

(b) Maintainsubjectbalance:Whiledevelopingthecurriculumandsyllabus
it will be important to rationalise the number of subjects and textbooks at the
primary and upper primary levels such that there is no additional curriculum
load on children. States that follow the seven - rather than the eight-year
elementary education cycle, tend to introduce subjects of history, geography,
science and social studies in Class V instead of Class VI. This adds to the
curricularloadonchildren.Intransitingtoaneight-yearelementaryeducation
cycle these states should initiate a review of the subjects and textbooks
currently taught in class V and VIII, and rationalise them according to the
respectiveneedsoftheprimaryandupperprimarystages.

16
There is also need to integrate and align various learning materials like
textbooks, workbooks, worksheets, supplementary materials etc. in order to
reduce unnecessary burden on the teacher and child, bring in cohesiveness
andreduceoverlaps.

(c) Initiate Textbook Contents Reform: The academic authority notified by

the appropriate Government under section 29(1) for developing curriculum
and evaluation procedure is also responsible for textbook development.
Textbooksmustreflecttheprinciplesofchildcentredpedagogyasenunciated
in:(i)section29(2)(e)learningthroughactivities,discoveryandexplorationin
achildfriendlyandchildcentredmanner,and(ii)section29(2)(g)makingthe
child free of fear, trauma and anxiety and helping the child to express views
freely. Textbooks developers should design books such that they provide
interactive opportunities for group activities with continuous self and peer
assessment. The textbooks should keep the principle of equity and inclusion
at the forefront, proactively break extant stereotypes to reflect sensitivity to
genderandcaste,peace,healthandtheneedsofdifferently-abledchildren.

(d) Textbook language: Extensive research points to the fact that in a

multilingual country like India, the childs home language is often different
from the standard language in textbooks. This imposes enormous learning
burden on the child, and is perhaps one of the chief reasons of low
achievementinschoolsubjects.Thedifferencebetweenthehomelanguage
and textbook language not only affects the language learning in school, but
also subjects like Mathematics, Environment Studies, etc. because these
subjects also need a language for transaction. This is why the RTE Act
stipulatesthatthemothertongueshouldbeusedasfaraspracticable.Thus,
efforts to incorporate well known methods of bridging between the childs
home language with the standard classroom language need to be given
utmostattention.

(e) Undertake Textbook Production Reform: Textbook production,

encompassing the layout and design, text and cover, paper size and
specifications, ink, printing and binding, etc., have significant implications for
17
quality. There should be adequate focus on good quality printing and visual
designofbooksalongsideimprovementincontent.

SSA provides support for textbooks to all children in government, local body
and government aided schools, including Madrasas desirous of introducing
theStatecurriculum.SSAprovidessupportwithinanupperceilingofRs150
per child at the primary stage, and Rs 250 per child at the upper primary
stage.

States that have been providing textbooks to children under State sector
schemes and budgets since 2007-08 will continue to fund textbooks being
provided from the State Plans. Wherever States have undertaken curricular
reform in consonance with NCF-2005 and have taken steps to improve the
development,productionandprintingqualityoftextbooks,supportunderSSA
will be available as top up grants for children supported under the State
sector schemes and budgets within the prescribed per child ceilings, subject
howevertoevidenceofsuchcontentsandproductionreform

(f) Ensure continuous and comprehensive assessment for Learning:

Therehavebeensomemisgivingsontheprovisionofnodetention,whichis
wrongly interpreted to mean that children will not be assessed, but will be
automatically promoted to the next class. RTE provides for Comprehensive
and Continuous Evaluation (CCE). CCE implies continuous assessment,
ratherthannoassessment.Thismeansthatassessmentshouldbetreatedas
anintegralpartofteachingandlearning,asexemplifiedbytheActivityBased
Learning(ABL)methodologypracticedinschoolsinTamilNadu,andpilotedin
several States, including Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, etc. Central to ABL is
the learning ladder with a series of activity cards. Assessment is built into
thelearningladderintheformofactivitycards.Whenachildfinisheswitha
set of activity cards, including the assessment cards, she completes a
milestone on the ladder, and can move to the next level. Every milestone
involvescompletingseveralactivitiesincludinggames,rhymes,drawingsand
songs. There are no exams, but a student can move to the next level only
afterattainingproficiencyinthepreviousone.Thusassessmentisinbuiltinto
18
the teaching learning process, and is recorded for each child at his/her own
paceoflearning,onanassessmentchart.

Apart from the ABL methodology, there are other CCE techniques which
provide for an appropriate assessment profile for each child, including five
tools, namely (a) Engagement pattern of the child, (b) Observations in
general, (c) Observation in classroom during group-work and individual
activity (d) Understanding childs written work on work assigned by the
teacher, and (e) an Anecdotal record. IfCCE is implemented in this manner
fromthechildsperspective,itwillbringoutthebestineverychild,ratherthan
pressurizingthechildtocompeteandout-performineveryaspectoflearning,
and show what progress the child has made with respect to her own
performanceovertime.

This advisory issues with the approval of the competent authority and should
bebroughttotheknowledgeofallconcerned.

6. TheAcademicAuthoritiesnotifiedbytheStatesundersection29(1)ofthe
RTE Act need to undertake a comprehensive review of the curriculum and
evaluationprocedure.Statesarethereforerequestedtoinitiatestepsto:

Formulate age-appropriate curricula and syllabi in keeping with the principles of

section29oftheRTEActandNCF-2005

1. Maintainsubjectbalance

2. Initiate textbook contents and production reform, incorporating bridging

mechanisms between the childs home language with the standard
classroomlanguage

3. Ensure that continuous and comprehensive assessment is built into the

learningprocess

19
7. In undertaking curricular renewal, the Academic Authorities may also
ensure that the teacher training designs/ modules and learner assessment
systemsconformtotheprinciplesinsection29(2)oftheRTEAct.

***
20
AGENDA5:GRIEVANCEREDRESSALUNDERRTEACT

1. The RTE Act, 2009 recognizes the legal right of all children between the
ages of 6 and 14 years to free and compulsory elementary education. It places
corresponding duties on the Central and State Governments and the local
authoritiestoensurethatallchildrenwithinthisagegroupareenrolledinschools
and participate in schooling. Section 31 and 32 of the RTE Act recognize the
responsibilityoftheNationalCommissionforProtectionofChildRights(NCPCR),
the State Commissions for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCRs) and the
jurisdictional local authorities to monitor the protection of childrens right to
education. Wherever the State Commissions have not been constituted, the
Central Rules, 2010 and the Model Rules suggest the setting up of the Right to
EducationProtectionAuthority(REPA)onaninterimbasis.

2. To date 19 States have constituted SCPCR/REPA. These States are

requested to ensure that the SCPCR/ REPA have the necessary structures and
staff to enable it to function effectively. The States which have not constituted
SCPCR/REPA are: Andaman & Nicobar Island, Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh,
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Jharkhand, Lakshwadweep, Manipur,
Meghalaya, Nagaland, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand.TheseStatesarerequestedtoexpeditetheconstitutionofSCPCR/
REPA.

3. TherevisedSSAFrameworkofImplementationprovidesfinancialsupport
for SCPCR/REPA to monitor the rights of children under the RTE Act. The SSA
normsforinterventionprovideforfinancialsupportcalculatedattherateofRs50
per school per year for monitoring by SCPCR/REPA. The detailed interventions
for monitoring by the SCPCR/REPA are required to be placed before the State
ExecutiveCommitteeforSSA.

4. After the Act came into force, the NCPCR and the SCPCRs have been
receivingnumerouspetitions/complaintsunderSection31and32ofRTE.Some
Commissions have established specific mechanisms for receiving and handling
complaintsrelatedtoRTEActandhavealsoreceivedadditionalsupportfromthe
Governmentwhileothersareyettodoso.Forimplementationoftheprovisionsof
21
section 32 of the RTE Act, the State Governments have to notify the local
authoritiesforthepurposesofreceivinggrievancesandformulateguidelinesand
procedures for the functioning of local authorities, including the mechanism for
appealbeforetheSCPCR/REPA.

5. TheDepartmentofSchoolEducationandLiteracyhasissuedthefollowing
AdvisorytoStatesforsettingupaGrievanceRedressalsystem.

F.No.1-18/2010EE4
GovernmentofIndia
MinistryofHumanResourceDevelopment
DepartmentofSchoolEducationandLiteracy

ShastriBhawan
NewDelhidatedJanuary,2012

Subject : Advisory on implementation of sections 31 and 32 of the Right of

ChildrentoFreeandCompulsoryEducation(RTE)Act,2009

TheRightofChildrentoFreeandCompulsoryEducation(RTE)Act,2009
provides for monitoring and protection of childs rights under the Act. Under
Section 31, the National/State Commission(s) for the Protection of Child Rights
(NCPCR/SCPCR), or Right to Education Protection Authority (REPA) in respect
of a State which has not constituted the SCPCR have been empowered to (a)
monitor and review the safeguards for rights provided under the RTE Act; (b)
inquireintocomplaintsrelatingtochildsrightstofreeandcompulsoryeducation;
and (c) take necessary steps as provide under sections 15 and 24 of the
Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005. Section 32 provides for
redressalofgrievancesrelatingtorightsofachildundertheRTEActbythelocal
authority within a period of three months, and appeal against the decision of the
localauthoritybeforetheSCPCR/REPA.

2 The following guidelines are issued for the implementation of the

provisionsofsection31and32oftheRTEAct.

ResponsibilitiesofStateGovernment
22
3 Theresponsibilityofidentifyingandnotifyingthelocalauthoritywhichshall
performthefunctionofgrievanceredressalundersection32oftheRteActvests
withtheStateGovernment.Inthisregard,theStateGovernmentmayundertake
thefollowingmeasures:

(i) Identifythelocalauthority(ies),withinthemeaningofsection2(h)oftheRTE
Act, for performing the functions envisaged in section 32 (1) and (2) of the
Act.

(ii) Notifythelocalauthorityatthevillage,block/mandalanddistrictlevelhaving
jurisdiction in respect of the responsibilities specified for local authorities
undersection9,whowouldperformthefunctionsenvisagedinsection32(1)
and (2) of the RTE Act. The Notifications should be placed in public domain
andgivenwidepublicity.

(iii) Prepare a list of legal entitlements of a child guaranteed under the RTE Act
andStateRTERulesandmakethisinformationwidelyavailable.

(iv) Prescribethemannerinwhichgrievancewouldbefiledu/s32(1)oftheRTE
Act and the manner in which the decision is to be taken by the notified local
authorityundersection32(2)oftheAct.
ProcessingGrievances/Complaints
3 GrievancesmayrelatetoviolationofanyoftheprovisionsundertheRTE
Act and may be against any public office, public servant, private institution,
private person or any other agency responsible directly or indirectly for the
effectiveimplementationofprovisionsoftheRTEAct.Thenotifiedlocalauthority
shalltakeintoconsiderationthefollowingfactorswhiledevelopingaprocedurefor
filingandprocessingofsuchgrievances:

(i) The local authority can accept written complaint made by any person on
behalf of the child. Complaints could be sent by post, fax, e-mail, or in
person.Theauthorityprescribedtoaddressgrievancesatvariouslevelswill
prescribe relevant formats which are simple and easy to understand,
23
comprehendandfurnish.

(ii) The notified local authority will develop a system of registration of

grievances,andareceiptofregistrationofthegrievanceshouldbeprovided
tothecomplainantinstantly.

(iii) For the purpose of deciding a matter arising out of a grievance/complaint,

the notified local authority may cause such verification and call for such
informationasitconsidersnecessary.

(iv) Thegrievanceshouldbedecidedbythenotifiedlocalauthoritywithinthree
monthsofitsfiling,afteraffordingadequateopportunitytobothparties.The
decision of the notified authority under section 32(2) shall be a reasoned
order, and should contain the details of the Appellate Authority
(SCPCR/REPA) before whom an appeal can be preferred under section
32(3)oftheRTEAct.

(v) In respect of grievances relating to matters of urgency, such as denial of

admission, etc. the notified local authority shall endeavour to decide the
matterinashortertime.Further,inrespectofgrievancesrelatingtoviolation
of Indian Penal Code, such as violence, child abuse, corporal punishment,
etc., the notified local authority may facilitate filing of FIR before the police
authorities.

(vi) Inrespectofagrievanceregisteredbeforethenotifiedlocalauthoritywhich
requirestobedecidedbyanauthorityotherthanthenotifiedauthority,such
grievances be sent to that authority which is competent and empowered to
decidethematter,andonreceiptofsuchgrievance,theotherauthorityshall
takestepstodecidethematterexpeditiously.

(vii) Everynotifiedlocalauthorityshallmaintainarecordofgrievancesfiledand
decisionstakenbyitandsubmitaperiodicreporttotheStateGovernment.

(viii) The notified local authority shall keep aside fixed days/timings for hearing
24
grievancesandforpersonalmeetingswithaggrievedparties.

RoleofSCPCR/REPAandProcessofAppeal
4 Section 32(3) of the RTE Act provides for appeals against the decision of
the notified local authority. In order to develop a transparent procedure for
furnishinganddisposalofappealsbytheSCPCRs/REPA,thefollowingmeasures
shouldbetakenbytheStateGovernmentandtheSCPCR/REPA.

(i) The State Government shall provide adequate resource support to the
SCPCR/REPAtoenableittoperformitsfunctionsundertheRTEAct.

(ii) The SCPCR would follow the procedures of an appellate body to hear
grievances. For this purpose, the SCPCR shall prepare a Memorandum of
Appeal in which appeals can be furnished before it. This Memorandum may
beplacedonthewebsiteoftheSCPCR,theStateEducationDepartmentand
madeavailabletothepublicbythenotifiedlocalauthorities.

(iii) Anypersonaggrievedbyadecisionordirectionofthenotifiedlocalauthority
may file an appeal to the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights.
The SCPCR/REPA may prescribe the time limit within which an appeal can
be furnished, which can also be extended by it if it is satisfied that the
appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from the filing the appeal within
theprescribedperiodTheMemorandumcanbefiledbypostorinperson.

(iv) Uponconsiderationoftheappeal,andafteraffordingadequateopportunityto
both parties, the SCPCR may pass an order upholding the decision of the
local authority, or modify or set aside the decision of the local authority, or
make such recommendations as it deems fit in accordance with the
provisions of section 15 of Commission for Protection of Child Rights Act,
2005. A copy of the order shall be sent to the applicant, the State
Government and the local authority against whose decision the appeal was
filed

(v) Every order of the SCPCR/REPA shall be taken into account by the State
25
Governmentorthelocalauthority,asthecasemaybe,forexpeditiousaction,
underintimationtotheSCPCR/REPA.

(vi) TheSCPCR/REPAshallmaintainarecordofallappealsfiledanddecidedby
it.
5 TheStateGovernmentandtheSCPCR/REPAmaytakestepsputinplace
the grievance redressal and appellate mechanism taking into account the
aforementionedGuidelines.AcompliancereportmaybesenttothisDepartment
withinonemonth.

6. States are requested to initiate steps to set up a Grievance Redressal

mechanismundertheRTEAct.


***

26

ANNEXURE I

MI NUTES OF THE STATE EDUCATI ON MI NI STERS CONFERENCE HELD
ON 8TH JUNE 2011 AT BANQUET HALL, ASHOK HOTEL, NEW DELHI


The St at e Educat ion Minist ers Conference was held on 8
t h
June 2011
under t he Chairmanship of Shri Kapil Sibal, Minist er of Human Resource
Development . List of t he part icipant s is at Annexure-I .

Honble HRM in his opening remarks welcomed Member (Educat ion),
Planning Commission, Educat ion Minist ers of St at es, officials of t he Minist ry of
HRD and st at e government s. He st at ed t hat since he had already indicat ed his
views during t he 58
t h
meet ing of t he CABE held on t he previous day, t herefore, it
would be appropriat e, if t he meet ing is confined t o fruit ful discussion on agenda
it ems. HRM suggest ed t hat t he concerned officials could make a brief
present at ion for each agenda it em and t hereaft er Honble Educat ion Minist ers
and St at e represent at ives could respond on t he same.

Agenda I t em No.1: St at us of I mpl ement at i on of RTE Act . ( I ncl udi ng
Communi cat i on St r at egy and Cr eat i ng Awar eness and al so Gr i evance
Redr essal )

Ms. Ani t a Kaul , Addi t i onal Secr et ar y ( SE) made pr esent at i on on t he
agenda i t em.

Ms. Anit a Kaul in her present at ion t ouched upon implement at ion of RTE
Act and st at ed t hat during t he last year, 10 it ems had been ident ified on which
act ion had t o be t aken in order t o proceed wit h RTE Act . I n her present at ion, she
gave overall pict ure of t he st at e-wise st at us of implement at ion of RTE Act . She
st at ed t hat while 19 St at es/ UTs have already not ified t he RTE Rules, 15
St at es/ UTs are yet t o do so. She st at ed t hat Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan norms have
been revised in order t o fact or in t he requirement s for neighbourhood schools.
27
However, Cent ral Government have not been able t o provide funds for new
school buildings and new school t eachers t o t hese 15 St at es as t hey have not
not ified RTE Rules so far. I n her present at ion, she highlight ed t hat 24
St at es/ UTs have already const it ut ed SCPCR and remaining 10 St at es/ UTs are yet
t o const it ut e SCPCR. She st at ed t hat t here has been a significant progress in all
st at es in respect of 8 years element ary educat ion cycle. I n her present at ion, she
ment ioned t he st at us of about pupil t eacher rat io, imbalance in deployment of
t eachers, et c in various St at es. I n her present at ion, she also dealt wit h t he issue
relat ing t o admission of children from disadvant aged groups and weaker sect ions
in privat e schools under sect ion 12 (i)(c) of t he RTE Act , syst em for
reimbursement , and reorganisat ion of schools.

Pr esent at i on made by Shr i Sanj i v Nai r , Depar t ment of Sci enc &
Technol ogy on mappi ng of school s

The next present at ion was made by Shri Sanj iv Nair from t he Depart ment
of Science & Technology. Shri Sanj iv Nair st at ed t hat t hey are current ly working
wit h t he Government of Nagaland and Government of J&K and t hey would be
happy t o work wit h any St at e Government which would like t o t ake t his
programme. He also st at ed t hat he is having dat a in respect of t went y st at es
which could be cust omised t o t he requirement s of st at e government s.

Pr esent at i on on Techni cal Par t

The t echnical part of t he present at ion was made by Gen. Chandela. He
st at ed t hat t hey have done work for Government of Manipur on mapping of
schools. He explained t hat t hey are using 3-D t errain models, t he high resolut ion
images, digit al elevat ion model and different scales of map for planning and
monit oring schools. He st at ed t hat t he dat a which comes from t he St at e
Government s has been superimposed on t he t errain model and mapped. He
st at ed t hat t heir obj ect ive is t o find out habit at ion which are un-served by
primary and upper primary schools. He st at ed t hat as per St at e norms primary
28
schools should be available wit hin a dist ance of one kilomet re for Classes I t o V
and wit hin a dist ance of 3 kilomet res for Classes-VI t o VI I I . Based on t hese
norms, t hey have analysed t he sit uat ion of t he schools and ident ified villages
which have remained unserved. To begin wit h, t hey have t rained Manipur
Government educat ional officers and t eachers as t o how collect dat a from ground
using t he GPS. I n t he present at ion, one of t he dist rict s of Manipur was shown
along wit h t he places where schools are locat ed in t errain and t hrough geospat ial
mapping t hey have been able t o find out dist ances of schools from different
localit ies, dist ance of part icular habit at ion from t he school and t he serving of
part icular school in t he near habit at ions. I n conclusion, he suggest ed t hat
mapping of schools is absolut ely crit ical for meet ing mandat e of t he RTE Act .

Pr esent at i on made by Shr i Sumant Si ngh, St at e Pr oj ect Di r ect or , Sar va
Shi ksha Abhi yan, Mani pur

The next present at ion was made by Shri Sumant Singh, St at e Proj ect
Direct or, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Manipur. I n his present at ion, Shri Singh high
light ed t he out come part of t he school mapping exercise which has been done in
collaborat ion wit h Mission for Geo-Spat ial Applicat ion. I n his present at ion, he
ment ioned t hat t here are nine dist rict s in t he st at e wit h 4640 schools which have
been covered. He explained about t he init iat ives t aken by t hem about school
mapping exercise, collect ion of dat a from t he ground by visit ing some of t he very
difficult area of t he St at e. He furt her st at ed t hat t hey have collect ed dat a in
respect of habit at ion dist rict -wise. Based on t he dat a, t hey have made a
proposal for up-gradat ion of educat ion guarant ee cent res int o primary schools
and where t here is neit her a primary school nor EGS, t hey have proposed new
primary schools. He furt her st at ed t hat t hey are now in t he process of finding out
t he act ual dist ance from t he schools t o various habit at ions and based on t hat
act ual number of unserved schools will emerge.

The next pr esent at i on was made by r epr esent at i ve of Gover nment of
West Bengal , SPD, SSA
29

Ms. Lama made present at ion on experience of West Bengal in mapping of
schools and neighbourhoods. She st at ed t hat GI S mapping has st art ed way back
in 2001 when t he census was being done. They were asked by MHA for non-
census dat a t o be mapped t o ident ify infrast ruct ure t hat was available in t he
villages. She also st at ed t hat alt hough geo-referencing of was not done, t hey
were able t o ident ify t he infrast ruct ure of various Government depart ment s in
t hat part icular localit y. The villages ident ified by t hem as backward was
supposed t o be used as a t ool for planning. The GI S dat a will be helpful j ust t o
see t he pace of development of part icular area in t he subsequent census. She
also st at ed t hat GI S mapping would help t o ident ify regional imbalances, female
illit eracy and several ot her issues not only at t he nat ional level but also at t he
St at e level, dist rict and block level. She also st at ed t hat for an educat ion
planner, t here are t hree gaps in maj or areas access, infrast ruct ure and
availabilit y of t eachers. Wit h regard t o access t o educat ion, she st at ed t hat as
per RTE Act , t he st at e shall set up it s own norms and accordingly t hey have set
up schools in t hose localit ies where t here is a gap. West Bengal has decided t hat
all children will have access t o primary schools wit hin one kilomet re radius and
wit hin 2 kilomet res radius, for upper primary schools. I n order t o implement t he
RTE Act , t he St at e has t o have a clear pict ure of current availabilit y of schools in
defined areas and St at e Government is serious about t he mapping exercise. She
also informed t hat t hey have already complet ed habit at ion and t he mapping of
t he schools of t he ent ire St at e.

Pr esent at i on made by Shr i K K Pal

The t echnological part was dealt wit h by Shri K.K. Pal who st at ed t hat t hey
are covering 6 lakh villages. He st at ed t hat mapping is done in t hree Phases. I n
t he first phase co-ordinat ed work was geo-referenced t hroughout t he St at e and
every habit at ion was mapped. He also clarified t hat habit at ion is not a village
and it is an ent it y which is below t he village where a child resides and t o ensure
t hat t he child is get t ing his right . The moment t he mapping was done, planning
30
gaps became evident . New schools are being est ablished at places which require
schools as per t he mapping exercise. The mapping will also overcome t he
imbalance, as also help improve pupil t eacher rat io, qualit y of t eaching, et c.

Aft er t he above present at ion, HRM request ed Narendra Jadhav, Member
(Educat ion), Planning Commission t o address t he St at e Educat ion Minist ers, wit h
part icular focus on formulat ion of XI I Five Year Plan.

Speech of Dr . Nar endr a Jadhav, Member ( Educat i on) , Pl anni ng
Commi ssi on

I n his address, Member (Educat ion) Planning Commission st at ed t hat t he
Educat ion Minist ers Conference is always import ant and t his part icular
Conference is even more import ant t han usual, because t his is happening on t he
eve of commencement of XI I Five Year Plan. He briefly t ouched upon
Government policy likely t o be incorporat ed in t he XI I Plan in t he educat ion
sect or and skill development . I n his speech, he referred t o t he meet ing of t he
Full Planning Commission held on April 21, 2011 chaired by t he Prime Minist er
where broad cont ours of t he approach t o t he XI I Five Year Plan were discussed
along wit h, principal issues in t he cont ext of achieving a fast er, more inclusive
and sust ainable growt h. He apprised t hat in t he Full Planning Commission
meet ing it was emphasised t hat educat ion, skill development and healt h should
receive a high priorit y in resource allocat ion during t he XI I Plan. He apprised
t hat XI I Plan current ly being formulat ed is t ruly, a complet ely part icipat ive plan in
it s approach. He also st at ed t hat for preparat ion of XI I Plan, wide consult at ive
process, bot h formal and informal, has already been init iat ed. He also st at ed
t hat Planning Commission is reaching out t o St at es and t here will be four regional
consult at ions. He also st at ed t hat Planning Commission has formed a number of
St eering Commit t ees and Working Groups so as t o accommodat e represent at ives
of St at e Government s, educat ionist s, sect or specialist s, NGOs, t eachers, et c. He
also st at ed t hat it is Planning Commissions endeavour t hat t he XI I Five Year Plan
t ruly becomes a peoples plan reflect ing views/ aspirat ions and goals of people at
31
large. He briefly spelt out about t he operat ionalisat ion of RTE Act , harmonising
RTE wit h SSA and t he need for higher level of funding. Wit h regard t o XI I Five
Year Plan, he viewed t hat bulk of t he invest ment during XI I Five Year Plan would
go for school educat ion sect or and also t owards educat ionally backward blocks or
dist rict s wit h a view t o bridging t he regional, social and gender gaps and
inclusion of t he excluded. Wit h regard t o priorit ies of XI I Five Year Plan, he
st at ed t hat improving qualit y of element ary educat ion t hrough t ackling academic
issues such as t eachers vacancy, t eacher absent eeism, uneven qualit y of
t eaching, high dropout of st udent s, t he general problem of ret ent ion, basic
short age of infrast ruct ural facilit y are some of t he maj or issues. He urged t he
St at es t o ut ilise fully t he funds sanct ioned under t he Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Wit h
regard t o higher and t echnical educat ion, Planning Commission would
emphasises on expansion, inclusion and excellence during t he XI I Five Year Plan.
He also st at ed t hat Planning Commission would like t o emphasize on five issues -
cont inued commit ment of higher educat ion expansion, sust ainable funding,
improving employabilit y of t he graduat es, more privat e part icipat ion including
innovat ive PPP and qualit y innovat ion and excellence at t he core. He was also of
t he view t hat we should shift our st rat egy from creat ion of new inst it ut ions t o
t heir consolidat ion, focus on qualit y of educat ion and raising t he bar of high
qualit y inst it ut ions t o make t hem globally compet it ive.

Pr esent at i on made by Kar nat aka St at e Counci l f or Sci ence and
Technol ogy

Represent at ive of Karnat aka St at e Council for Science and Technology also
gave a present at ion on a pilot proj ect t hat has been undert aken in Hubli and
Tumkur dist rict . He st at ed t hat Karnat aka is t he first st at e in t he count ry t o have
special dat a infrast ruct ure for a geospat ial dat a t o provide it on line aft er NSDI
which was launched in 2009. I t was also informed t hat t hey have collect ed
dat abase for all informat ion regarding Punchayat i Raj inst it ut ions, roads, et c. and
t he informat ion was used in developing educat ion management informat ion
syst em. He informed t hat t hey have already ent ered det ails of school locat ions in
32
t he cent ral server and any body int erest ed t o monit or t he respect ive schools can
also see t he neighbourhood t hrough t he videos. By put t ing such informat ion in
GI S infrast ruct ure available in t he school including kit chen, t oilet s, et c. can be
monit ored. HRM desired t o know whet her t hey are t aking videography on t he
ground or aerial phot ography or sat ellit e imagery. I n response, he st at ed t hat all
t he informat ion will be kept on t he cent ral server and anybody can access as per
t heir requirement s. HRM also apprised t hat ent ire area of Delhi has been
mapped including ground syst em and if t here is break down in t he syst em, t he
same can be rect ified immediat ely.

Aft er t he present at ion, Secret ary (SE&L) suggest ed for det ail discussion on
t he issues on which present at ions were made. Honble HRM invit ed suggest ions
from St at e Educat ion Minist ers

Shr i P.K. Shahi , Honbl e Educat i on Mi ni st er Bi har .

Honble Educat ion Minist er of Bihar invit ed HRM t o visit Bihar and t o see
about t he development of t he st at e in t he educat ion sect or. He st at ed t hat while
number of school going childrens have gone up, t he St at e Government is unable
t o accommodat e t hem in a proper class rooms. Furt her t here is no increase in
t he number of t eachers. He, t herefore, urged HRM t o provide one t ime fund for
addit ional classrooms t o accommodat e st udent s in t he schools. He also informed
t hat St at e Government has already set up a corporat ion for t he civil const ruct ion
work of educat ional inst it ut ions. He brought t o t he not ice of HRM issue of
t eacher t raining and said t hat t here is lack of t eacher t raining inst it ut ions in
Bihar. He suggest ed t hat Government and privat e sect or can work j oint ly t o
solve t his issue. He also brought t o t he not ice of HRM t he pending issue
regarding preparat ion of bridge course by I GNOU which will help St at e
Government for t raining of 1.15 lakh unt rained t eachers. The bridge course also
requires recognit ion by NCTE. Wit h regard t o NCTE, he was of t he view t hat
NCTE in it s present form is not capable t o bring improvement in t he t eachers
educat ion.
33

HRM t hanked t o Shri Shahi for support ing supersession of NCTE. HRM
also informed t hat cert ain changes have been brought in AI CTE and t he same
will be replicat ed in NCTE also. Wit h regard t o bridge course, HRM informed t hat
we have best owed all such responsibilit y t o I GNOU and it is regret t ed t hat I GNOU
has not responded st at e government quickly. He direct ed VC, I GNOU t o t ake
immediat e st eps in t his regard.

Shr i Raman Lal Bor a, Honbl e Educat i on Mi ni st er , Guj ar at

Honble Educat ion Minist er of Guj arat expressed apprehension about t he
admission of 25% children from disadvant aged groups and weaker sect ions in
privat e schools under sect ion 12(1) (c) of t he RTE Act . He expressed t hat t he
Cent ral Government will have t o t hink deeply about it s implement at ion of RTE
Act . He also st at ed t hat it will be difficult for t he child from j uggi t o adj ust wit h
t he children of upper st rat a and t his will lead t o inferiorit y complex. He also
raised t he issue regarding t eachers t raining and also about t he funct ioning of
NCTE. He informed t hat St at e Govt . is in t he process of recruit ing 13000
t eachers as per guidelines issued by NCTE. He also suggest ed t hat Cent ral
Government may provide funds for const ruct ion of st aff quart ers under SSA. He
also st at ed t hat alt hough Rs.1860 crore was earmarked for Guj arat Government
under SSA, however, t he same has not been released so far. He ment ioned t hat
Guj arat is least receiver of funds under SSA.

While int ervening in t he discussion, HRM urged t he Educat ion Minist er of
Guj arat t hat we should work t oget her for t he development of educat ion and
urged him t o focus discussion on pupil-t eacher rat io, recruit ment of t eachers,
redeployment of t eachers, et c. HRM also assured him t hat he will look int o t he
issue of non-release of funds t o Guj arat St at e.

Secret ary ( SEL) informed t o all t he st at e Educat ion Minist ers t hat due t o
procedural changes, t here has been some delay in t he release of funds under
34
SSA t o t he St at es. She furt her clarified t hat funds have been released by end of
May.

Shr i Dar da Raj endr a, Honbl e Mi ni st er of School Educat i on,
Mahar asht r a

Honble Educat ion Minist er of Maharasht ra in his opening remarks
congrat ulat ed HRM for organising St at e Educat ion Minist ers Conference and also
for carrying out large scale reforms in educat ion. He informed t hat Maharasht ra
Government is launching a massive Siksha and Jagrut i Abhiyan where every
st akeholder t eachers, st udent s, parent s and communit ies will be involved. He
also st at ed t hat t he St at e Government is reaching out t o nearly 74 lakh girls
t hrough t he Meena Manch, reaching out t o each girl in t he school t hrough let t ers
writ t en by school management commit t ee and principle. He informed t hat t he
RTE Rules are before t he St at e Cabinet , and are likely t o be not ified by t he
mont h end. SCPCR has already been const it ut ed in t he St at e. He also st at ed t hat
t he St at e will also t ake a decision on moving t o an eight year element ary
educat ion cycle short ly. He also informed t hat t he St at e government has also
mapped all t he primary and secondary schools init iat ed on Google eart h and has
creat ed a mast er plan where by issues of access and st at us of each school in
t erms of infrast ruct ure is available for carefull planning. He apprised t hat t here
are 685 unt rained t eachers in t he St at e, who will be provided 60 days t raining
programme t hrough SCERT. He also informed t hat Teachers Recruit ment Rules in
t he St at e are under review t o bring t hem in conformit y wit h t he Teacher
Qualificat ions not ified by t he NCTE under sect ion 23 of t he RTE Act . He pleaded
t hat Model Schools be provided wit h resident ial host els and t eachers be provided
quart ers, which can be built as per t he St at e Schedule of rat es.

Mr s. Ar chana Chi t ni s, Honbl e Educat i on Mi ni st er , Madhya Pr adesh

Honble Educat ion Minist er, Madhya Pradesh informed t hat all t he
st at ut ory requirement s for implement at ion of t he RTE Act have been fulfilled.
35
She suggest ed t hat t he cost s arising out from reimbursement for admission of
25% children from disadvant aged groups and weaker sect ions in privat e schools,
should be shared bet ween t he Cent ral and St at e Government s. I n t his cont ext
HRM clarified t hat 13t h Finance Commission envisages a minimum of 8% annual
growt h in plan out lays for educat ion. I t is expect ed t hat t he cost of
reimbursement can be met from t he 8% annual increase. HRM also assured t hat
in case t here is no enhancement of funds for educat ion, he will reconsider t his
issue. On t he issue of t eacher recruit ment she st at ed t hat t he St at e will be
sending a det ailed proposal seeking relaxat ion under sect ion 23 of t he RTE Act .
She suggest ed t hat t here is need for t eachers quart ers in t he remot e rural and
t ribal areas of t he st at e, and t hat SSA norms for int ervent ions should be
appropriat ely revised t o provide for resident ial accommodat ion for t eachers. She
also st at ed t hat 42 dist rict s in t he St at e have DI ETs and remaining dist rict have
no DI ETs and t he st at e has been perusing for opening of DI ETs for t he last t wo
years. She sought HRM int ervent ion for opening of DI ETs in 9 newly creat ed
dist rict s. She also suggest ed for relaxat ion of RMSA norms for Urdu schools.

Secret ary (SE&L) clarified t hat t he Minist ry has received proposals from
st at es for relaxat ion of t eachers norms and t he Depart ment has also request ed
st at es t o furnish more informat ion which will help t o examine t he case.

Shr i Rakesh Dhar Tr i pat hi , Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, UP

Honble Educat ion Minist er of UP st at ed t hat t he St at e Government has
init iat ed process for recruit ment of 1.22 lakh t eachers and furt her 80000 t eachers
are t o be recruit ed under RTE. He suggest ed t hat t he funds earmarked for t he
year 2011-2012 may be released t o enable t he st at e govt t o pay salary t o
t eachers. He request ed HRM t o ensure t hat process of t eachers recruit ment
should not hamper due t o rest ruct uring of NCTE. He, however, welcomed t he
rest ruct uring of NCTE. He reit erat ed t he need for revision in t he pat t ern of funds
bet ween t he Cent ral and St at e Government , and suggest ed t hat funds sharing
should be in 90: 10 rat io.
36

Shr i Vi shweshwar Hegde Kager i , Honbl e Mi ni st er of School Educat i on,
Kar nat aka

Honble Educat ion Minist er of Karnat aka st ressed t he need for qualit y
educat ion He suggest ed for st rengt hening for SCERT and DI ETs for improving
qualit y of educat ion. He also brought t he not ice of HRM t hat NCTE is not effet ely
working. He t herefore suggest ed t hat NCTE should be made more effect ive and it
should provide support t o t he st at es.


Mr s. Geet a Bhukkal , Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, Har yana.

Honble Minist er of Educat ion, Haryana st at ed t hat t he present at ions on
GI S mapping were useful and at t empt s would be made t o incorporat e such a
syst em in t he St at e. She suggest ed t hat a syst em of awards be inst it ut ed for
good performance in RTE/ SSA/ RMSA, et c. She informed t hat t he St at e
Government has already not ified RTE Rules. She ment ioned t hat t he St at e is
commit t ed t o complet e recruit ment of t eachers in t he t ime frame prescribed
under t he RTE Act . The St at e had a syst em of STET t o ensure recruit ment of
qualit y t eachers, even before t he Cent ral Government not ified such a syst em.
She also ment ioned t hat t he St at e Government has also involved privat e
organisat ions t o meet t he requirement for t eachers t raining. The St at e of
Haryana is also making amendment s t o ensure t hat t eachers ret irement s dat e
t ake effect only at t he end of t he academic year, rat her t han mid-way t hrough
t he academic session. She furt her st at ed t hat communit y part icipat ion is
import ant and t he const it ut ion of SMCs under t he RTE Act would be priorit ized.
Wit h regard t o GPS, she st at ed t hat Educat ion Depart ment of Haryana has
already purchased GPS device for all 21 dist rict s of t he St at e and t he St at e is
put t ing all effort s t o ident ify neighbourhood schools. She also st at ed t hat
t eachers have been provided unique I D number in Haryana which includes
informat ion relat ing t o t heir post ings, number of children, et c. She suggest ed
37
t hat all t he st udent s from t he St at e should be given unique I D number at
nat ional level.

Dr . Sai l aj a Nat h Sake, Honbl e of Mi ni st er of Pr i mar y Educat i on, Andhr a
Pr adesh.

Honble Minist er of Andhra Pradesh in his opening remarks t hanked HRM
for his effort s in improving educat ion. He st at ed t hat t here are more t han one
lakh schools under different management s in t he St at e, out of which 21082 are
privat e unaided and remaining are semi government inst it ut ions. He furt her
st at ed t hat t he st at e government has complied wit h all t he RTE norms except
shift ing from seven years t o eight years element ary educat ion cycle. He also
st at ed t hat ret ent ion rat e has improved significant ly from 65.42% t o 86.78% and
it is expect ed t o increase furt her. However, t he number of privat e educat ion
inst it ut ions has out numbered t he Government schools in t he St at e. He felt t hat
t here is a need t o improve t he qualit y of educat ion in government schools. St at e
Government int ends t o monit or privat e inst it ut ions but t he provision of RTE for
admission of 25% children from disadvant aged groups and weaker sect ions in
privat e schools has been st ayed by t he High Court . The privat e inst it ut ions are
charging very high fees. St at e Government is making all effort s t o lift t he st ay.
He st rongly endorsed t he legislat ive t o prohibit Educat ional Malpract ices which
will t ake care of t hese malaises. He also brought t o t he not ice of HRM about t he
need of t eachers t raining in t he St at e. He st at ed t hat St at e Government is in t he
process of formulat ing rules for t eachers recruit ment and t heir t raining facilit ies
in t une wit h RTE Act . He urged HRM t o formulat e law at nat ional level t o prohibit
malpract ices being adopt ed by privat e inst it ut ions and also t o det ermine t he
responsibilit y of t eachers. He ment ioned t hat Andhra Pradesh had already
complet ed GI S mapping. He suggest ed t hat KGBVs be provided wit h boundary
walls.

Shr i Bosi r am Si r am, Honbl e Educat i on Mi ni st er , Ar unachal Pr adesh

38
Honble Educat ion Minist er of Arunachal Pradesh st at ed t hat t he St at e
faces an acut e problem of unt rained t eachers and t he St at e Government has only
12816 t rained t eachers for bot h element ary and primary schools. He also st at ed
t hat 11 DI ETs are funct ioning, and 23 BRCs available in t he St at e should also be
permit t ed t o provide t eacher educat ion. He st at ed t hat t here are 1489 t eachers
regist ered wit h I GNOU for t raining, but progress has been slow. He suggest ed
t hat t he mat t er be t aken up wit h I GNOU and NCTE. He also informed t hat St at e
has already not ified RTE Rules. He apprised t hat KGBVs are funct ioning well in
t he St at e, and meet t he needs of girls in t he remot e part s of t he St at e. He also
urged t he Cent ral Government t o open more KGBVs in t he St at e. He st at ed t hat
t here is urgent need of Science, Mat h and Hindi t eachers in t he St at e. He also
urged financial help for GI S mapping.


Shr i Br i j mohan Aggar wal , Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, Chhat t i sgar h

Honble Educat ion Minist er of Chhat isgarh st at ed t hat Chhat t isgarh being a
t ribal belt , is facing difficult y in t he recruit ment of mat hemat ics, chemist ry and
physics t eachers as per norms not ified by NCTE. He st at ed t hat t here is a need
for relaxat ion under sect ion 23 of t he RTE Act for t he recruit ment of t eachers.
He also suggest ed five years exempt ion in qualificat ion for recruit ment of
t eachers and 5 years relaxat ion in appoint ment of t eachers. HRM, however,
clarified t hat t here is provision of relaxing 3 years aft er t he recruit ment . He also
clarified t hat every t eacher has t o qualify TET. Honble Educat ion Minist er
suggest ed t hat t eachers who have already been select ed would require five years
for qualifying TET. He also st at ed t hat t he St at e has t o recruit 30,000 t eachers,
however, only 5000 t rained t eachers are available in t he St at e. He brought t o
t he not ice of HRM t hat sanct ion for const ruct ion work comes in a errat ic manner.
I n order t o overcome t his problem, he suggest ed t hat t he PAB should draw a five
years long t erm plan which will help St at e Government t o plan t he work in
advance. He also urged t o enhance t he const ruct ion amount of t he school
buildings under SSA as t he present amount is not sufficient . He also urged for
39
providing e-learning in primary and also in middle schools t o creat e int erest
among t he st udent s and issue of absent eeism could also be addressed. He
urged sanct ion of 250 more Edusat facilit y, so t hat t eacher educat ion can t ake
place in dist ance mode t hrough edusat , and e-learning can be encouraged. He
also suggest ed t hat a Teacher Training and Resource Cent re be provided t o
Chhat t isgarh. He was of t he view t hat t he proposed model schools will have no
relevance if t hey are sanct ioned wit hout host el facilit ies.

HRM in his response st at ed t hat Depart ment already has a Mission on
Educat ion t hrough I CT for higher educat ion. The Minist ry has now decided t hat
t he Mission of I CT will also be ext ended t o school educat ion. HRM also referred
t o t he scheme of t his Depart ment for providing low cost comput ing devices under
I CT Mission. HRM urged t hat we should not wait for physical st ruct ure which is
t ime consuming, and we should st art t eaching-learning processes t hrough e-
learning.

VC, I GNOU in his remarks st at ed t hat HRM is also t he Minist er of
Communicat ion and I T and we should t ake benefit of t his opport unit y t o move
fast in t his direct ion. He st at ed t hat t he proj ect has a t ie up wit h BSNL and funds
have also been t ransferred t o BSNL. He also informed t hat all t he St at e
Universit ies will get broad-band connect ion wit hin next t wo years. HRM also
referred t o t he Commit t ee set up under t he Chairmanship of Mr. Sam Pit roda and
Mr. Nandan Nilekani t o implement t he rural broadband scheme.

Shr i Abdul Ghani Mal i k, Honbl e Mi ni st er of Hi gher Educat i on, Jammu &
Kashmi r

I n his opening remarks, Shri Abdul Ghani Malik, Honble Minist er of Higher
Educat ion, Jammu & Kashmir t hanked HRM for liberally funding t o Jammu &
Kashmir. He st at ed t hat t here has been 15% increase in female lit eracy bet ween
2001 and 2011 in t he St at e. He suggest ed t hat funds be released in t wo equal
inst alment s, rat her t han in piecemeal. He described t he Rabbe Talim scheme
40
which enables t he st at e t o engage local t eachers at t he primary level. He also
brought t o t he not ice of HRM cert ain issues about t eachers t raining.

Shr i Lal sawt a, Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, Mi zor am

Shri Lalsawt a, Honble Minist er of Educat ion, Mizoram st at ed t hat t here are over
6000 unt rained t eachers in t he St at e. He, t herefore, request ed for enhancing
capacit y OF DI ETs t o meet t he t raining needs of exist ing t eachers as well as
prepare t eacher t rainees for appoint ment against ret irement vacancies. He
suggest ed t hat t he int ake of DI ETs should be increased from 100 t o 200. He
suggest ed t hat short age of t eachers can be overcome by t raining t eachers under
I GNOU, which present ly could not be availed because I GNOU insist on screening
t est of t eachers. He also suggest ed t hat 6 DRCs funct ioning in t he St at e should
be upgraded t o full-fledged DI ETs, and addit ional CTEs should be sanct ioned t o
meet t he requirement of Teacher Educat ors. This will help address t he problem
of t eacher educat ion. He also emphasised need for Hindi Teachers in t he St at e.

While int ervening in t he discussion HRM desired t o know t he aut horit y
asking for screening t est of t eachers. VC, I GNOU clarified t hat it is not a
screening t est and t his part icular B.Ed programme of I GNOU is a 2-year
programme, approved by NCTE wit h an ent rance t est . He furt her clarified t hat it
is only for t hose working t eachers wit h 2-years of t eaching experience in t he
school educat ion syst em. He furt her clarified t hat t hey have not received any
request t o remove t he ent rance examinat ion guidelines. I n case I GNOU receive
any specific request s from J&K and/ or Nort h-East ern St at es for waiving of t his
ent rance examinat ion, t hey can consider t he same wit h t he prior consent of
Nat ional Council of Teachers Educat ion.

While int ervening in t he discussion, HRM ment ioned t hat many St at es
have said t hat t rained t eachers are not available. However, Maharasht ra
Educat ion Minist er has informed t hat t here are more t han 5 lakh t rained t eachers
working in t heir St at e and 90,000 t rained t eachers are being added t hrough B.Ed.
41
every year as against t ot al requirement of only 15,000. HRM, t herefore, urged
t hat a pool of t rained t eachers may be formed t o meet t he requirement s of
t rained t eachers of ot her St at es. Similarly, Raj ast han and Guj arat are also
having excess t rained t eachers.

Smt . Ar chana Chi t ni s, Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, Madhya Pr adesh

Honble Educat ion Minist er of Madhya Pradesh suggest ed t hat t here is a
need for enhancing budget provision under SSA for t raining t he unt rained
t eachers. The present expendit ure of Rs.6,500 for t raining t he unt rained t eacher
is inadequat e as even I GNOU is charging Rs.15,000/ - per t eacher.

Pr esent at i on on i mpl ement at i on of Secondar y Educat i on, Publ i c Pr i vat e
Par t ner shi p i n school educat i on and i mpl ement at i on of Sakshar Bhar at

I n his present at ion on Public Privat e Part nership in School Educat ion,
JS(SE) explained about possible models of PPP in school educat ion relevant for
t he count ry and t he effort s made so far. I t was informed t hat about t here are 14
lakh schools in t he count ry and if, all schools are put t oget her, about 50% are
owned and run by t he Government and t he rest are by local bodies, local self-
government , privat e sect or and privat e aided and privat e un-aided. Wit h regard
t o % of expendit ure of GDP on educat ion, it is ranging bet ween 3.3% in 2004-05
which has gone up t o 3.85% in 2009-2010. I t was point ed out t hat t here is a
mismat ch in demand and supply and t herefore, supply gap needs t o be filled. As
far as secondary educat ion is concerned, t he expendit ure is t o t he t une of 1.8%
of t he GDP in I ndia whereas it is 2.2% in USA and 3.1% in UK. Despit e
enhancing resources for educat ion, t here is st ill huge gap bet ween demand and
supply. Hence t here is need t o leverage our resources t o add infrast ruct ure and
t o expand access. Present ly, we also have philant hropic corporat e responsibilit y,
we need t o put a policy in place where t hese kind of init iat ives come from
out side. I n addit ion, we int end t o gain from t he experience of t he privat e sect or
in running and managing t he schools, in t raining t he t eachers, in deploying
42
infrast ruct ure and also using t he resources opt imally. Government may also
consider t o provide infrast ruct ure facilit y and leave it t o t he privat e sect or t o
operat e it . I n t he present at ion, various met hods for public privat e part icipat ion
were put fort h for t he considerat ion. He also ment ioned t hat UK and Aust ralia
have also t aken privat e financing init iat ives. He also st at ed t hat school
management is anot her possible model in which ent ire school management is
given t o privat e sect or and government sponsors a few st udent s. He also
referred t o t he 2500 model school being set up by t he government in t he count ry
in non- educat ionally backward blocks. I t was also explained t hat t here could be
a range of possible services t hat can be t aken from privat e sect or for operat ing
t hese schools which includes design, built , operat e, maint ained, and t ransfer
mode. The model schools being set up by t he Minist ry in each block of t he
count ry, on a cost sharing basis, bet ween Cent ral and St at e Government s was
also cit ed.

Wit h regard t o set t ing up of model school, it was st at ed t hat t hese schools
will be set up on t he pat t ern of Kendriya Vidyalaya wit h same facilit y and same
norms in each of t he block of t he count ry. These will be set up on cost sharing
basis wit h t he Cent re and St at e. I n addit ion, cent ral government is also set t ing
up 2500 schools in t he non-educat ionally backward blocks and t hese can be set
up by charit able t rust s, regist ered societ ies even non profit companies under
Sect ion 25 of t he Companies Act . Under t he scheme land, building and
infrast ruct ure is t o be provided by t he privat e sect or and t he Government in t urn
would sponsor 140 st udent s in each class. Model schools in t he most backward
blocks will be const ruct ed by Government . Out of 6000 schools, 3500 schools
will be set up by government and remaining 2500 will be kept for PPP mode. He
clarified t hat backward blocks have been ident ified on all I ndia basis. Some
Honble Minist ers, however, expressed t heir apprehension about t he adj ust ment
problem of st udent s coming from poor family t o get admission in such schools.

HRM int ervened in t he discussion and said t hat it is our dut y t o ensure
t hat marginalized people also get t he best possible educat ion. Wit h regard t o
43
set t ing up of 2500 model colleges in PPP mode, it was informed t hat Bhart i Airt el
and many ot her corporat e houses have shown t heir int erest in t his regard. HRM
also informed t hat environment of t he count ry is changing and large business
houses of t his count ry are int erest ed t o give back t o societ y by invest ing in such
scheme, not for profit but for sust aining t he societ y.

Wit h regard t o RMSA, Honble Educat ion Minist er of Bihar st at ed t hat
amount earmarked for office expenses under t his scheme is meager and t his may
be enhanced t o 5-6%. He furt her st at ed t hat Bihar is highly populous st at e and
t he St at e is cont emplat ing t o open Madhyamik school wit hin a dist ance of 3
kilomet res inst ead of 5 kilomet res as per exist ing norms. He also point ed out
t hat t he exist ing provision of Rs.58.12 lakh is not sufficient for const ruct ion of
schools and procurement of lab equipment s. I t needs furt her revision. He also
urged t hat allocat ion of funds for repair work should be left wit h t he St at e
Government as it needs feasibilit y.

Secret ary (SEL) explained t hat t he issue of enhancing administ rat ive
expenses was also raised in a meet ing of RMSA Nat ional Mission. She was
hopeful t hat it would be enhanced t o at least 4% which will also require approval
of t he Minist ry of Finance. Wit h regard t o cost of const ruct ion of madhyamik
school, Secret ary (SE&L) explained t hat as per exist ing provisions, st at e schedule
of rat es will be followed wit h t he cap of Rs.58 lakh. Wit h regard t o repair works,
she clarified t hat Rs.25000-50000 has been sanct ioned t o each school for minor
repair work. Allocat ion of funds for repair works is being followed school-wise
under SSA. Wit h regard t o suggest ion for school wit hin 3 kilomet res, Secret ary
(SEL) said t hat it would be difficult t o deviat e from t he exist ing norms.

Dr . Sai l aj a Nat h Sake, Honbl e Mi ni st er of Pr i mar y Educat i on, Andhr a
Pr adesh

Wit h regard t o Public Privat e Part icipat ion, Honble Educat ion Minist er of
Andhra Pradesh st at ed t hat t here is no clarit y amongst t he business and
44
apprehended t hat privat e people may not come forward for charit able purpose.
He had some reservat ions about t ot al privat izat ion of t hese schools aft er t en
years and said t hat t his may go against t he int erest of marginalized people of t he
societ y. However, it was clarified t hat t he whole scheme is for t en years but at
t he end of t end years t he scheme can be renewed. He request ed HRM for full
discussion on t his subj ect before it is implement ed.

Shr i Bosi r am Sr i r am, Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, Ar unachal Pr adesh

Wit h regard t o Saakshar Bharat , Honble Educat ion Minist er of Arunachal
Pradesh said t hat t here are 16 dist rict s in Arunachal Pradesh. Government of
I ndia has released 12 inst allment s for implement at ion of Saakshar Bharat so far
and t hen 3 inst alment s aft er reducing one inst alment on t he ground t hat lit eracy
rat e is more t han 50% in Papumlara dist rict . He furt her st at ed t hat beyond
I t anagar and Naharlan, t here are so many villages which are educat ionally
backward. He suggest ed t hat I t anagar and Naharlagan could be excluded and
Papumlara may be considered for Saakshar Bharat .
Secret ary ( SEL) explained t hat dist rict is t he unit under Saakshar Bharat
and lit eracy figure shown in 2001 Census is t aken int o account . Secret ary (SEL)
also clarified t hat t hese issues will be t aken care of in t he XI I Plan period.

Shr i P.K. Shahi , Honbl e Mi ni st er of HRD, Bi har .

Wit h regard t o Saakshar Bharat , Honble Educat ion Minist er of Bihar st at ed
t hat Government has set a t arget of more t han one crore for Bihar unt o 2012.
He furt her said t hat Panchayat elect ion is not yet over in Bihar. Furt her, he said
ent ire Saakshar Bharat has t o be conduct ed by Panchayat s. He raised t he doubt
about achieving 25% of t he t arget fixed for Bihar. He was of t he view t hat t he
deadline of 2012 in any way will have t o be considered for ext ension. He also
said t hat t here is only one t rainer for populat ion of 5000 in Bihar. Since
Panchayat populat ion of Bihar is not less t han 7500 and many are having more
t han 10000 populat ion, one t rainer is inadequat e. He also suggest ed t hat t hey
45
want volunt eers and t hese volunt eers should be given cert ificat e as an addit ional
incent ive.

I n his int ervent ion, HRM st at ed t hat it is expect ed t hat Saakshar Bharat
programme will cont inue during t he XI I Plan. HRM also st at ed t hat a working
group is being set up on adult educat ion and lit eracy. All t he suggest ions and
input s coming t hrough CABE and Educat ion Minist ers Conference will be used in
formulat ion of XI I Five Year Plan as already ment ioned by Member (Educat ion),
Planning Commission. HRM also clarified t hat all t he schemes and programmes
are for five years cycle and t hese schemes are likely t o cont inue. Wit h regard t o
repair of schools, HRM j ust ified t hat all t he schools cannot be placed at par as
some of t hem are very old and require more invest ment .

Shr i Abdul Kar i m Choudhur y, Honbl e Mi ni st er of Mass Educat i on, West
Bengal

I n his opening remarks, Honble Educat ion Minist er congrat ulat ed HRM for
holding t he meet ing of St at e Educat ion Minist ers. He st at ed t hat due t o St at e
Assembly elect ion and operat ion of model code conduct , t hey find some difficult y
in implement ing t he schemes. Aft er elect ions St at e Government has now st art ed
reviewing all t he schemes and moving forward. He raised t he issue of volunt eers
who are inst rument al of implement ing Saakshar Bharat . He, t herefore, urged
Cent ral Government t o bring incent ives scheme for t hese volunt eers as t hey can
not survived wit hout financial help. He also st at ed t hat St at e Government is
t rying t heir best t o help t hese volunt eers but due t o economic crisis, St at e is not
in a posit ion t o help t hem t o t he possible ext ent . He also st at ed t hat t he St at e
Government has also st art ed lit eracy class cent re programme. He also st at ed
t hat St at e Government has also set up a Commit t ee t o monit or Saakshar Bharat
programme.

46
Wit h regard t o payment of honorarium t o volunt eers, HRM clarified t hat
t his issue was considered by t he Cabinet , but did not agree. HRM also assured
t hat t his will be considered while formulat ing XI I Five Year Plan.

Shri Jagmohan Raj u, Joint Secret ary and DG, NLM also clarified t hat St at e
Government has been given complet e freedom t o decide which act ivit y t hey want
t o do at dist rict level, block level and gram panchayat level under Saakshar
Bharat .

Mr s. Geet a Bhukkal , Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, Har yana

I n her opening remarks, Honble Educat ion Minist er of Haryana welcomed
t he st and t aken by Government t o ext end RMSA in Higher Secondary schools of
Government . She also suggest ed t hat govt aided schools should also be covered
under t he scheme. She urged t hat t he funding pat t ern under RMSA should be
75: 25 even during t he XI I Plan. While referring t o t he issue of purchase of books
under RMSA and SSA, she said t hat Haryana government has already decided t o
organize book fair in every dist rict which will be involve st udent s, t eachers and
parent s who can purchase books from t here. She also suggest ed t hat host el
facilit y should be provided in model schools which will increase ret ent ion. Wit h
regard t o vocat ionalisat ion of higher secondary educat ion, she st at ed t hat St at e
Government will consider t he issue and St at e will vigorously follow up skill
development in consult at ion wit h Nat ional Skill Development Corporat ion. She
also st at ed t hat t hey have already sent a proposal t o Government of I ndia for
providing 9000 vocat ional t eachers which is st ill pending. Wit h regard t o set t ing
up of model school in t he non-educat ionally backward blocks under PPP mode,
she want ed t o know who will be t hese privat e invest ors and what is t he role of
St at e Government .

Secret ary (SEL) clarified t hat t he issue relat ing t o enhancing fund sharing
pat t ern of 75: 25 under RMSA may be considered in t he XI I Five Year Plan and it
will be placed before t he Working Group. All effort s will be made t o have a
47
workable solut ion t o t his issue. Wit h regard t o host el facilit y in t he model
schools, it will also be placed before t he Working Group. However, t his will
depend on t he availabilit y of resources. She also clarified t hat vocat ionalisat ion
of secondary educat ion has already been approved. Wit h regard t o select ion of
privat e part ners, procedure has not been formulat ed so far, t herefore, it is not
possible t o furnish det ails. However, it has been decided t o set up a group for
formulat ion of guidelines for select ion of privat e part ners.

Shr i Peer zada Mohd Syed, Honbl e Mi ni st er of School Educat i on, Jammu
& Kashmi r

Honble Minist er of School Educat ion of J&K st at ed t hat funds are being
t ransferred t hrough St at e Bank of I ndia under RMSA. He urged HRM t o release
t he fund t hrough J&K Bank as SBI has very few branches in J&K. He said t hat
t he request of St at e Government is st ill pending wit h Government of I ndia.

Shri Jagmohan Singh Raj u, Joint Secret ary and DG (NLM) clarified t hat
under Saakshar Bharat funds are released t o St at es and as per fund flow
mechanism part ner banks play an act ive role, because t hey have t o change t heir
soft ware and all t heir syst ems. He also apprised t hat t his issue was discussed
wit h t he officials of J&K Bank t o confirm as t o whet her t hey can provide t he same
facilit y as is being given by SBI . However, J&K Bank have not revert ed back so
far t o t he MHRD.

Shr i Br i j mohan Aggar wal , Honbl e Mi ni st er of Educat i on, Chhat i sgar h

Honble Educat ion Minist er Chhat isgarh referred t o t he Madhyamik Shiksha
Abhiyan and urged HRM t o convey in principle approval in advance for opening of
schools based on t he school survey t o enable t he St at e Government t o finalize
t he scheme including recruit ment of t eachers, ident ificat ion of land, finding of
schools, et c as t he advance will help in facilit at ing for ext ension of Madhyamik
Shiksha Abhiyan in XI and XI I classes. He also suggest ed t hat Cent ral
48
Government should do somet hing for volunt eer t rainers working in Saakshar
Bharat as wit hout t heir support , t his will not be implement ed. He suggest ed t hat
t he repair amount for schools should be enhanced as some of t he schools are
more t han 100 years old. He also emphasized on co-educat ion. He also
suggest ed t hat dist ance educat ion norms for girls schools, Urdu schools may be
relaxed and Sanskrit schools should be brought int o RMSA.

Pr esent at i on on t he f ol l owi ng i t ems was made by Shr i Suni l Kumar ,
Addi t i onal Secr et ar y ( Hi gher Educat i on) .

Sur vey on Hi gher Educat i on

I nt er est Subsi dy on Educat i on Loan Scheme

Wit h regard t o Higher Educat ion Survey, Shri Sunil Kumar, AS (Higher
Educat ion) referred t o t he genesis of survey way back in 2001, when
Government of I ndia had set up a Nat ional St at ist ical Commission under Prof. C.
Rangaraj an wherein t hey had said about serious problems in regular t imely
collect ions, disseminat ion of dat a, for an assessment of supply of manpower in
educat ion and t echnical. He also apprised t hat t he Commission had
recommended t hat t here should be a higher educat ion survey in every five years.
He also referred t o t he recommendat ions of t he Review Commit t ee, const it ut ed
by t his Minist ry way back in 2008, st at ing t hat t here is acut e need of baseline
survey of t he st at us of higher educat ion. He st at ed t hat dat a required under t he
survey may include basic informat ion on t eachers, t heir availabilit y, vacancies,
non-t eaching st aff, programmes being conduct ed in various facult ies and
depart ment s, st udent enrolment . The informat ion will help in t he preparat ion of
XI I Five Year Plan, where focused schemes could be evolved.

Wit h regard t o present at ion on int erest subsidy on educat ion loan, Shri
Sunil Kumar st at ed t hat it is Cent ral Scheme on I nt erest Subsidy on Educat ion
Loan. He st at ed t hat t he current policy at t he Cent re and also at t he St at es is
49
t hat no body should be denied professional educat ion on account of his/ her
financial posit ion. He st at ed t hat access t o children from socio-economically
weaker sect ions in professional course is low on account of high fee. Furt her,
t here are limit s on scholarships. Theref ore, a new scheme has been int roduced
t o t ake care of t he financial aspect . As per t he scheme, Government will
subsidize int erest burden during t he morat orium period which is t aken as t he cost
durat ion plus one year or six mont hs from employment whichever is earlier. This
is applicable where annual income is less t han Rs.4.5 lakh and t his is t he only
scheme where socio-economic background is not eligibilit y. The Depart ment
has signed an MOU wit h Canara Bank which is nodal bank. He brought t o t he
not ice of St at es t hat 14 St at es and Union Territ ories have not yet not ified t he
aut horit ies who should be responsible for not ifying aut horit y for income
cert ificat e. He, t herefore, sought t he help of St at es in t his regard so t hat more
and more st udent s could avail t he benefit available under t he scheme.

Shr i P.K. Shahi , Honbl e Mi ni st er HRD, Bi har .

Honble Educat ion Minist er Bihar st at ed t hat Rs.37,000/ - limit per mont h
is not adequat e t o meet t he educat ional requirement s of t heir kids in respect of
t hose lower middle class wit h higher income group. HRM clarified t hat
Government is already in t he process of finalizing a scheme where Government
will give a guarant ee for loan for pursuing higher educat ion.



Shr i Br i j mohan Aggar wal , Honbl e Educat i on Mi ni st er , Chhat t i sgar h

Honble Educat ion Minist er of Chhat isgarh desired t o know t he durat ion of
loan period and period of morat orium. HRM clarified t hat morat orium will be for
one year aft er complet ion of course or six mont hs aft er employment , whichever
is earlier in t he scheme.

50
Shr i Rakesh Dhar Tr i pat hi , Honbl e Mi nist er of Educat i on, Ut t ar Pr adesh

Honble Educat ion Minist er of UP informed t hat t hey have already not ified
t he scheme and request ed t hat Government of I ndia should issue a
communicat ion t o all t he educat ional inst it ut ions and universit ies for it s publicit y.

I n response t o above, it was clarified t hat t he Canara Bank is already in
t ouch wit h ot her banks about t he implement at ion of t his scheme. I t was also
informed t hat t his Depart ment has already writ t en t o all Dist rict Level
Coordinat ion Commit t ee Bankers about t he scheme.

Pr esent at i on on set t i ng up of Model Degr ee Col l eges i n 374 i dent i f i ed
Hi gher Educat i onal l y Backwar d Di st r i ct s by Shr i Suni l Kumar , Addi t i onal
Secr et ar y ( HE)

While present ing on t his subj ect , AS (HE), MHRD informed t hat t his is a
Cent ral Sponsored Scheme in higher educat ion where Cent re and St at e could
act ually be part ners and share in est ablishing inst it ut ions. He also referred t hat
t his scheme was discussed in lengt h in t he past and based on suggest ions of
some Honble Minist ers, it is felt t hat t here should be t wo opt ions, one financing,
assist ing universit ies t hrough UGC rout e as well as direct ly support ing St at e
Government s and t here should be an MOU t o be ent ered bet ween Cent re and
St at e. He informed t hat t his Depart ment is in t ouch wit h St at es and some of t he
St at e Government s have expressed t heir difficult y wit h regard t o St at e share
being made available. He clarified t hat since t he scheme had t he approval of
NDC, it is not possible t o modify t he scheme at t he fag end of XI Five Year Plan.
He informed t hat some of t he Minist ers of t he St at es met wit h HRM and point ed
out t hat it is not necessary t o have a capit al cost of Rs.8.00 crore. Based on t he
feedback received, it was felt t hat unit cost may be kept lower bet ween Rs.4.00
crore - Rs.8.00 crore t o at t ract St at es. However, t he rat io would remain t he
same. He also gave overall pict ure of t he scheme. He urged all t he St at e
Educat ion Minist ers t o submit t he proposal as early as possible. He also apprised
51
t hat UGC has been advised t o sanct ion host el building part icularly for girl
st udent s belonging t o weaker sect ions.

One of St at e Educat ion Minist er also referred Rangaraj an Commit t ee
Report recommending t hat 100% infrast ruct ure cost t o be borne by t he Cent re
and urged t he HRM t o t ake int o account in t his scheme. He made it clear t hat it
is impossible for St at e Government s t o spend Rs.5.3 crore for t he const ruct ion of
Model College.

Pr esent at i on on Low cost access-cum-comput i ng devi ce under I CT
Mi ssi on

Secret ary ( HE) in her remarks on I CT Mission referred t o t he issues raised
by St at e Educat ion Minist ers about t he connect ivit y given by BSNL. She st at ed
t hat cont ent creat ion and low cost comput ing device will be covered on t his
subj ect .

Shri N. K. Sinha, Addit ional Secret ary (TEL) in his present at ion, briefly
explained about t he Nat ional Mission on I CT and sharing pat t ern. He st at ed t hat
it is a Cent rally Sponsored Scheme, 75% of cost of connect ivit y is borne by t he
Cent re and remaining 25% by t he St at es. Wit h regard t o Nort h East Region, t he
sharing pat t ern is 90: 10. He furt her st at ed t hat 100% cont ribut ion for e-cont ent
generat ion is from t he Cent re and in case of low cost devices t he cont ribut ion is
equal bet ween Cent re and St at e. Wit h regard t o e-cont ent generat ion, he
informed t hat t he work has already begun for all under graduat e courses and
CEC which is under t he UGC has been ent rust ed wit h t he responsibilit y of
creat ing t he e-cont ent . Wit h regard t o engineering courses, I I Ts & I I Sc. t oget her
have been conduct ing NPTEL programme where t ill dat e 125 web courses and
135 video based courses have already been generat ed and uploaded. He also
informed t hat t hose universit ies who are under I CT mission will be paying 25% of
cont ribut ion for connect ivit y which is coming t o around Rs 50 lakh for1000 Mbps
for t en year period. He furt her st at ed t hat nearly 984 more semest er courses are
52
under development . He also informed t hat out of nearly 419 universit ies which
were assigned t o NMEI CT, 354 universit ies have already been connect ed. Wit h
regard t o low cost access device, Shri Sinha informed t hat t hese devices as per
specificat ions have been manufact ured and 1 lakh devices have already been
ordered. The cost of device is Rs.2200/ - and each st at es could be provided 3000
devices.

Prof. Kannan of I I T-Bombay also gave brief demo on spoken t ut orial. He
st at ed t hat spoken t ut orial is recording of a comput er session along wit h t he
running comment ary He furt her st at ed t hat it is in audio video t ut orial. These
t ut orials are for public healt h and similar t ut orial can be creat ed for ot her
discipline.

Shri Ashok Thakur, Special Secret ary, MHRD also explained about t he
proposal of t he Depart ment for set t ing up of 20 new I I I Ts in PPP mode during
t he current financial year. He informed t hat Depart ment of Higher Educat ion has
been working on t his scheme since last year t o finalise it and t he scheme has
since been finalized. He also informed t hat a workshop was held on 18
t h
March
2011 t o discuss t his issue wit h all St at e Government s. He furt her st at ed t hat a
lot of ent husiasm has shown by t he St at es in t he workshop and many St at e
Government s want ed t o have a proj ect but when Cent re sent applicat ion forms t o
St at es for filling in and ident ifying indust ry part ners, we have not received any
applicat ions from St at es t ill dat e. He request ed Educat ion Minist ers of St at e t o
ident ify indust ry part ners. While deliberat ing on financing, he apprised t hat , out
of t ot al cost of Rs.128 crores, 50% would be borne by t he Cent re, 35% by St at e
Government wit h land about 50 acres and rest 15% will be shared by privat e
indust ry part ner. He informed t hat t he select ion procedure of indust ry part ners
and it s det ail guidelines are available on t he websit e of t he Depart ment . He
st ressed t he need t o address all t he issues coming in t he way of t his scheme and
request ed St at e government s t o move forward. He also informed t hat
applicat ions from 3-4 St at es were received but incomplet e as no clear
commit ment on t he part of t he indust ry part ner was indicat ed.
53

HRM also brought t o t he not ice of all t he St at e Educat ion Minist ers t he
circular issued by t he Minist ry regarding Ant i-Ragging measures. He sought t he
help of St at e Government t o publicise t he ant i-ragging measures in a big way so
as t o avoid any unfort unat e incident . HRM also informed t hat he will hold special
sessions wit h Minist ers from St at e on higher educat ion issues like governance
reforms, set t ing up 374 degree colleges, et c.

Educat ion Minist er, Manipur drew t he at t ent ion of HRM about t he list
maint ained by t his Depart ment relat ing t o higher educat ionally backward
dist rict s. He clarified t hat t he figures maint ained by t he Minist ry on GER are on
higher side and t his may be rect ified t o enable Manipur t o get benefit s under t his
scheme. He also suggest ed t hat Government of I ndia should bear 100% cost for
set t ing up of model degree colleges which were set up before January 2008.

At t he end of t he meet ing, a summary record of discussion was prepared
which is at Annexure-I I . The same has also been host ed on t he websit e of t he
Minist ry. Thereaft er, t he meet ing ended wit h a Vot e of Thanks t o t he Chair.


* * * * *











54
ANNEXURE I I
Minutes of the Meeting of State Education Ministers on Community Mobilisation
and Public Awareness of Right to Education Act held on 19th October 2011 at New
Delhi.

A meeting of State Education Ministers on Community Mobilisation and Public
Awareness of the Right to Education Act was held the chairpersonship of Shri Kapil
Sibal, Minister for Human Resource Development on 19
th
October 2011. The meeting
was attended by Dr D Purandeswari, Minister of State for Human Resource Development,
Education Ministers of States/UTs, Administrators of UTs, Smt. Anshu Vaish, Secretary,
SE&L, Principal Secretaries/Secretaries and senior representatives of States/UTs,
members of National Advisory Council, representatives from UNICEF, and senior
officials of the Ministry of HRD. A complete list of participants is attached at Annexure
A.

2. Dr. D. Purandeswari, Honble Minister of State for HRD welcomed the State
Education Ministers and other participants. She stated that with the passage of the RTE
Act in August, 2009, India had joined the comity of 135 countries which have made
education a fundamental right. Creation of public awareness and involvement of the
community is essential for the successful implementation of the RTE Act. India has
experience of impressive strategies for mobilisation, and cited the example of Total
Literacy Campaign, launched in the 1990s, which saw an upsurge of peoples
participation. The systematically planned campaign approach, adopted in the early years
of the total literacy programme, was characterized by very large scale mobilisation and
creation of an atmosphere in which educated youth, students and community volunteers
took on the challenge of illiteracy. This approach had brought fresh excitement to the
literacy scene. She also stated that implementation of the RTE Act has several
implications: The RTE Act provides us a three year window to establish neighbourhood
schools, ensure provision of teachers and school infrastructure adequate classrooms,
barrier free access, separate toilets for girls and boys, library, teaching learning material,
play material, games and sports equipment, etc. She concluded that the Community
Mobilisation and Public Awareness programme that is proposed to be launched will give
us an opportunity to make education of equitable quality a reality.

3. Shri Kapil Sibal, Honble Minister of HRD thanked the State Education
Ministers for responding to his invitation at such short notice. He stated that the
enforcement of Article 21-A and the RTE Act represents a momentous step forward in
our struggle for universalising elementary education. Today the world is looking to India
to provide a skilled work force, and therefore good quality elementary education along
with skill development programmes are the need of the hour. He stated that the
implementation of the RTE Act poses the biggest ever challenge for all of us, as more and
more children from very diverse backgrounds enter the education system in order to
participate in the learning process. He quoted Shri M.C. Chagla, former Education
Minister of India who had said that Our Constitution fathers did not intend that we just
set up hovels, put students there, give untrained teachers, give them bad textbooks, no
playgrounds and say, we have complied with Article 45 and primary education is
expanding...... They meant that real education should be given to children in the age
group of six to fourteen years. Today, we have moved beyond the directive principle of
55
Article 45; with Article 21-A Elementary Education is a fundamental right, and the
challenge of ensuring good quality education relevant textbooks, trained teachers,
infrastructure and facilities - within the RTE time frames assumes even greater
significance.

4. Minister of Human Resource Development recalled the Statement of Objects and
Reasons (SoR) attached to the RTE Bill when it was introduced in Rajya Sabha: The
Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, is anchored in the belief
that the values of equality, social justice and democracy and the creation of a just and
humane society can be achieved only through provision of inclusive elementary education
to all. The challenge before us is to ensure that we do not denigrate or belittle childrens
life experiences, but work towards creating an inclusive school and classroom
environment for all children, especially those children who are at risk of marginalisation.
Labelling or profiling a student or a group of students as incapable of learning because
of their social category or gender or disability creates a sense of helplessness, inferiority,
vulnerability and stigmatisation. All children, irrespective of the gender, caste or
community to which they belong have an equal right to membership of the same group as
all other students. Inclusion in education is one of the components of inclusion in society.

5. He stated that in the last one year there have been many developments
especially developments relating to notification of State RTE Rules, 8-year elementary
education cycle, teacher eligibility tests for recruitments, etc. These are indeed significant
developments. At the same time however, there is a feeling that the RTE message of
education of equitable quality for children has not quite reached every school or every
teacher across every nook and corner of the country. We need to remedy this and work
collectively to reach out to every school and every teacher to ensure that childrens
fundamental right to elementary education is fulfilled. This can only be done if all of us
partner together the Central and State Governments, the local authorities, civil society
organisations, peoples networks, teachers, parents and student bodies. It is in this context
that a year-long campaign of community mobilization and public awareness is being
launched on 11
th
November, 2011 - Education Day, with active participation of the civil
society organisations, NGOs, parents, teachers and children.

6. Smt. Anita Kaul, Addl. Secretary, Department of School Education and
Literacy made a presentation on the progress of implementation of RTE and the detailed
plan of the national campaign titled Shiksha Ka Haq. She stated that the RTE Act
provides a specific time frames for implementation of its provisions. In the last one year,
many developments have taken place in States including the formulation of State RTE
Rules, instituting systems for TET, amendments to teacher recruitment rules, moving to
an 8-year EE cycle. It is a matter of great importance to build conviction that Government
is committed to ensure implementation of RTE, and therefore, a comprehensive
communication and mobilisation strategy is needed. The Shiksha ka Haq Abhiyan would
be launched on 11th November 2011 at Nuh, Mewat, Haryana. The choice of Nuh,
Mewat is to signal the Governments commitment to implement the RTE Act across the
length and breadth of the country. The national function would be organised in
collaboration with the Government of Haryana. She stated that Prime Minister has
addressed a message to the children of the country, which is being mailed to all Head
Teachers to be read in school assemblies in the presence of children, teachers, parents,
school management committee members, etc on 11th November, along with a day long
56
function/ Shiksha Samvad in every school. The National event would be the starting point
for the year long campaign to make schools RTE compliant.

7. The launch of the Shiksha ka Haq Abhiyan would need to be followed up by State
level meetings with national and state peoples networks, youth organisations and civil
society organisations inviting them to participate in this massive national effort. A
Working Group consisting of Government and non-Government persons needs to be
constituted in every State to carry forward the work at the State level. The State Working
Group would need to identify around 30 volunteers in each of the 6000 blocks of the
country. The Block level volunteers to split into 10 groups of 3 persons each to visit all
the 13 lakh schools, and carry the RTE message to help the school plan how it would
transform into an RTE-compliant school in the course of the next year

8. The school-wise mobilisation would be accompanied by a strong media and
communication effort, comprising use of cell phones, SMSs, ringtones with RTE
messages, short TV spots, radio jingles on Doordarshan, private channels, AIR, FM radio,
meetings with print media editors, particularly vernacular press to seek their involvement
through specific newspaper based campaigns, existing good educational films to be
screened all over the country in both broadcast and non-broadcast mode. The possibility
of a Shiksha ka Adhikar express with support from Ministry of Railways to carry the RTE
message across the length and breadth of the country being explored. The campaign
would also given opportunity to develop and deepen understanding on several provisions
of the Act. A copy of the presentation is at Annexure B.

9. Dr Shailajanath Sake, Honble Education Minister, Government of Andhra
Pradesh stated that the State Government has rich experience in spreading awareness on
schemes and would extend its full co-operation to the national campaign.

10. Shri Himanta Biswa Sarma, Honble Education Minister, Government of
Assam congratulated the Minister for Human Resource Development for the proposal to
launch the campaign and stated that the State Government would make all efforts to
implement the proposal in the State of Assam.

11. Shri PK Shahi, Honble Education Minister, Government of Bihar stated that
the State Government has already taken the initiative of creating public awareness and
had launched a programme on 5
th
September, 2011 titled Hum Se Sikhe to ensure that
children stay in schools, and teachers are available. He further stated that the State
Government is taking all efforts to make the schools RTE compliant. He informed that the
State Government has organised Science Exhibitions at State, district and school level on
11
th
November 2011, and this will be dovetailed with the Shiksha Ka Haq Abhiyan.

12. Shri Ramanlal Vora, Honble Education Minister, Government of Gujarat
stated that the State Government has been making efforts for ensuring good quality
education with focus on the girl child. A three day campaign is launched every year in
which the Chief Minster, all Ministers and officers participate. This has resulted in
improving enrolment and reducing dropout. In addition, the State has been conducting a
Gunotsav campaign every year for the last three years. He stated that steps for
57
conducting TET have commenced, and that the State Government would notify the RTE
Rules by November, 2011.

13. Shri Kageri Vishveswara Hegde, Honble Education Minister, Government
of Karnataka stated that the State RTE Rules have been drafted and sent to the Law
Department and Finance Department and after receiving their concurrence, the Rules
would be notified. He further stated that on 5th July 2011 the State Government had
launched a campaign to spread awareness on the RTE Act, and would take steps to
implement the national campaign in the State.

14. Smt Archana Chitnis, Honble Education Minister, Government of Madhya
Pradesh stated that awareness is the most important aspect of the RTE Act. The State is
conducting a School Chale Hum programme for bringing out-of-school children to
school. She suggested that along with the Prime Ministers message to children, the State
Government may send a letter from their Chief Minister for the children. This suggestion
was endorsed by all Education Ministers, and it was accordingly agreed that rather than
directly mailing the Prime Ministers message to Head Teachers, MHRD would send the
material to the State Education Secretaries, who would take steps to despatch the Prime
Ministers message to schools along with a message from the State Chief Ministers, if
they so wished. Regarding progress of implementation of RTE Act, Education Minister,
Madhya Pradesh stated the State Government is addressing the issues relating to teacher
quality, providing teachers in the rural areas, and improving teacher attendance.

15. Shri RC Laloo, Honble Education Minister, Government of Meghalaya
stated that the State has no problem in the implementing the Act and welcomed the
Central Governments proposal of launching the campaign. He assured that all efforts
would be made to ensure full participation of the State.

16. Shri Lalsawta, Honble Education Minister, Government of Mizoram
welcomed the proposal of the Central Government to launch a nation-wide campaign on
the occasion of Maulana Azads Birthday. He stated that the letter of the Honble Prime
Minister would be sent to all School Principals and Head Teachers, and would support
activities to arouse enthusiasm in teachers.

17. Shri Pratap Jena, Honble Education Minister, Government of Orissa
congratulated Minister for Human Resource Development for mooting the idea of a
national campaign for RTE. He stated that the State Government has started a Chetana
Abhiyan campaign comprising meetings with teachers associations, EFA rallies, parents
counselling, etc., covering all schools and habitations, including private schools. With a
view to encouraging partnership with civil society organisations, the Government had
organised a workshop in which 69 NGOs had participated, as also educationists and
media persons. He assured that the nation-wide campaign proposed by the Ministry would
be implemented by the State Government.

58
18. Shri Bhanwar Lal Meghwal, Honble Education Minister, Government of
Rajasthan stated that the State Government has taken several steps for implementing the
RTE Act. Out of 12 lakh children who were out of school, around 9 lakh children have
been enrolled, and efforts are underway to bring the remaining children in school. The
State TET has been conducted and the recruitment process is underway; school mapping
exercise has been taken up. He suggested that nursery classes should be started in the
schools. While commending the Minister of Human Resource Development for the
launch of the Shiksha Ka Haq Abhiyan at Nuh, he assured that the State Government
would take all steps to implement the campaign in Rajasthan.

19. Shri NK Pradhan, Honble Education Minister, Government of Sikkim stated
that the State is now rebuilding its school infrastructure after the earthquake and on 10
th

October; the schools have re-opened. He welcomed the initiative of launching the Shiksha
Ka Haq campaign.

20. Shri Tapan Chakraborti, Honble Education Minister, Government of
Tripura stated that all efforts would be made by the State for launching of campaign and
the State Government would involve panchayats, block level officers, and other
stakeholders in the campaign. He informed that the State Government has notified the
RTE Rules, constituted the Right of Education Protection Authority (REPA) and the State
Advisory Council under the RTE Act, and the SCERT has been notified as the academic
authority under section 29 of the RTE Act. He suggested that NE States should be
provided 100% central support for implementation of the RTE Act.

21. Shri Bratya Basu, Honble Education Minister, Government of West Bengal
informed that the State RTE Rules are expected to be notified shortly. He stated that the
State Government has sanctioned additional 45,000 teacher posts, and a campaign for
spreading awareness on the RTE Act has been launched through the print and electronic
media. District level monitoring committees have been constituted. He welcomed the idea
of the nation-wide campaign and assured that the State Government would successfully
launch it in the State.

22. Smt Geeta Bhukkal, Honble Education Minister, Government of Haryana
thanked the Central Government for deciding to launch the national campaign from Nuh,
Mewat. She informed that the State Government has launched the Dastake-Talim
programme bring every girl child to school, with active cooperation of NGOs. She also
stated that no fees have been charged from children in Government schools and fees
charged earlier have been refunded. Considerable progress has been made by the State
Government in implementing the RTE Act, including notification of an academic
authority under section 29, conduct of state-level TET, provision of school uniforms and
improvement in school infrastructure, and recruitment of school teachers.

23. Ms. Shanta Sinha, Chairperson, NCPCR stated that the idea of a nation-wide
campaign is a great opportunity to ensure implementation of the RTE Act. The
59
involvement of over 1.8 lakh volunteers across the country would be stupendous effort in
involving the local community, and there would be need to inspire them to take the RTE
message across every nook and corner of the country. This campaign will result is
creating a demand for education of equitable quality, and simultaneous efforts would need
to be made to ensure that schools are prepared to meet the needs of disadvantaged and
vulnerable children, and treat them with sensitivity in keeping with their dignity and self
esteem.

24. Shri Vinod Raina, Member, National Advisory Council (NAC) stated that the
idea of a year-long national campaign conceived by the Task Force on Community
Mobilisation constituted by the NAC has been well received by the State Governments.
He further stated there is need to link community with government action, and the real
challenge is to ensure that the SMCs, PRIs and local authorities are activated to
implement the campaign.

25 Shri Aboobacker, Member, NAC commended the initiative of the Ministry of
Human Resource Development to launch the nation-wide campaign.

26 Ms Annie Namala, Member, NAC while welcoming the proposal stated that the
main challenge is to improve the quality of education. She stated that the launch of the
campaign on 11
th
November should be followed by a series of discussions at the State
level.

27. Ms Amita Dhanda, Member, NAC stated that implementation of the Rte Act
should focus on inclusive education and education of vulnerable children, girl child and
children with disabilities.

28 Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development thanked all the State
Education Ministers and other representatives of the State Governments for extending
their support to the national campaign and requested the State Governments to prepare an
action plan to undertaking the campaign which may be shared with the Ministry. He
assured full cooperation of the Central Government to the States efforts in implementing
the RTE Act. He announced that a one-day meeting of the State Education Ministers will
be held on 24
th
January, 2012, in which issues relating to implementation of RTE Act,
community colleges and implementation of Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan
would be discussed.

The meeting ended with a word of thanks.

*****