NITI Aayog recommends extension of RTE to pre-primary level

NITI Aayog has suggested extension of the Right to Education (RTE) Act to pre-primary levels and grade-wise minimum learning goals for class one to eight under the law.
On March 10, NITI Aayog made a presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Education Review for 2015-16.
The Aayog has said that National Achievement Survey (NAS) should be made an annual and result-actionable exercise.
As per the presentation, there is a "need to overhaul teacher training, coverage, curriculum and trainer quality".
"Target 60 per cent coverage of in-service training and 100 per cent untrained teacher training in one year using technology," the presentation recommended.

It pitched for starting "programme to fund district-level pilots in teaching innovation with defined targets to improve learning outcomes and create guidelines for states to redistribute teachers across schools, subjects".

These deliberations were made on the context of progress in building schools, poor learning outcomes across grades and subjects and limited uptake by schools for vocational courses in class IX to XII.
For vocational education, it said local demand backed courses in 15 per cent secondary classes can be rolled out by 2017-18; compulsory placement monitoring at class Xth and XIIth as well as framework for states to enlist quality contractual vocational educators.

The R&D body for vocational education, PSSCIVE, should convert or mandate over 800 NSDC job roles as curriculum by 2016-17, it suggested.
On higher education, it said there is a high regional disparity in access across states (does not include north eastern states, UTs other than Delhi.
While, on research studies, it said the quality and quantity are below global benchmarks.
The Aayog said that student employability is low, there is slow expansion of job oriented courses, need to increase and diversify research across streams.
Need total over 70 lakh additional seats to achieve the 30 per cent Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) by 2021, it added.