No. of out of school children down from 8 mn to 3 mn since 2009: MHRD

There has been a significant reduction in number of out of school children in the country following the inception of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the Ministry of Human Resource Development said today.

The ministry, in a press statement said, "The number of out of school children in the age group of 6 to 14 has come down to 3 million in 2012. It was 8 million in 2009."

"Net enrolment ratio at the primary level has been achieved at 99.8%. It has also led to gender parity index at primary level of one. The scheme supports about 200 million children in about 1.4 million schools in the country with special focus on disadvantaged sections such as SC/ST and Minorities, particularly girls," the press statement added.

The SSA scheme is a flagship programme of the Central Government for achievement of universalization of elementary education. It is mandated by a constitution amendment making free and compulsory education to the children of 6 to 14 years of age group a fundamental right.

Under the scheme to promote education for all, more than 1.95 lakh primary schools and more than 1 lakh upper primary schools have been sanctioned. About 20 lakh teachers’ posts have been sanctioned under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan since inception of the scheme.

To improve infrastructure in the school about 1.8 million additional classrooms have been sanctioned and about 0.23 million drinking water projects have been approved. Steps have also been taken to provide over eight-and-a half lakh toilets in the schools so that students can have access to proper sanitation.

Under the Scheme, nearly 0.36 million girls are studying in over 3500 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas. These are residential schools for girls for class VI to VIII in the educationally backward blocks of India. Of them, 29% are SCs, 26% STs, 26% OBCs, 9% Muslims and 10% belonging to BPL families.

The scheme alongwith other initiatives of the Government including Mid Day Meal has helped in checking dropouts of the kids particularly the girl child.