Government launches integrated school education scheme

The Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) on Thursday launched an integrated scheme for school education from pre-school till Class 12 and promised to increase the budget for the entire school education next year by 20 per cent.

The new scheme, called "Samagra Shiksha", is integration of three components into which school education was divided earlier. Thus, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) -- which took care of the school education at primary and secondary levels -- and Teacher Training will now be coalesced into one whole.

"We can't see education in parts.... People choose to send their kids to private schools because there aren't pre-schools in government schools... It has been almost 25 years since SSA was started. It worked fine but we thought change was necessary with time. This is a way to see education holistically," HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar told the media while inaugurating the scheme.

"The budget (for school) has been enhanced from Rs 28,000 crore in 2017-18 to Rs 34,000 crore in 2018-19 and further it will be Rs 41,000 crore in 2019-20. This is our commitment," he said.

The Minister announced that 11,50,000 schools under the scheme would receive sports grants.

The amount of grant will be Rs 5,000 for primary, Rs 10,000 for upper primary and up to Rs 25,000 for SSC and HSC schools.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya scheme -- under which girls from disadvantaged sections are provided education with hostel facility -- would also be extended from class 6-8 to class 6-12 under Samagra Shiksha, the Minister said.

-- IANS

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