Proposal on new National Education Policy





Proposal on new National Education Policy 
The Government has initiated the consultation process of formulating a New Education Policy to meet the changing dynamics of the population’s requirement with regard to quality education, innovation and research, aiming to make India a knowledge superpower by equipping its students with the necessary skills and knowledge.
A multiple level consultative process involving all stakeholders, such as, educationists, teachers, and students across all levels is being undertaken. The online consultation process is going on www.MyGov.in portal and nearly 21,500 suggestions have been received on 33 identified themes. A consultation meeting was held on 2ist March 2015 under the Chairpersonship of Union Minister of Human Resource Development with the State Education Ministers and State Education Secretaries to discuss the consultative process on formulation of New Education Policy (NEP) mainly focusing on the grass root consultative process which are to take place from village and move upwards to the Block, District and State levels. The summary record of the discussions can be accessed from www.mhrd.gov.in. Presently, the State Governments have initiated action for conducting the grassroots level consultations.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 

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Model schools in Educationally Backward blocks (EBBs) 
The Centrally Sponsored Model School Scheme envisages inter alia setting up of 3,500 schools in educationally backward blocks (EBBs) through State/UT Governments. The EBBs have been selected based on twin criteria of Female Rural Literacy rate being below the national average and Gender Gap in literacy being above the national average. However, the Scheme has been delinked from the support of the Government of India with effect from 2015-16 and as such the scheme stands transferred to the States/UTs.

Since the launch of the scheme in 2009-10 till 31st March, 2015, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has approved 2490 model schools, out of which 1101 model schools have been made functional.

The Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) scheme implemented by this Ministry which was launched in year 2009 provides for additional classrooms, science laboratory, library, computer room, art/craft/culture room, toilets, drinking water facilities etc in new secondary schools and existing secondary schools, to reduce dropout rate at secondary stage. Interventions like survey and identification of out of school children, awareness programme, bridge courses, special teaching for learning enhancement, residential camp for drop out students have also been supported under RMSA.

Similarly, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme seeks to provide access, equity, retention and quality in the area of elementary education. Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBY) scheme, which is a part of SSA has the objective to create residential school facilities at the upper primary level for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minorities in difficult areas.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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Infrastructure of Deemed Universities 
As informed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), as per direction of Hon’ble Supreme Court, an Expert Committee was constituted by the UGC to inspect 7 Deemed to be Universities namely (i) Bharath Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, (ii) Academy of Maritime Education and Training, Kanathur, Chennai, (iii) Ponnaiah Ramajayam Institute of Science & Technology, Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. (iv) Maharishi Markandeshawar University, Ambala, Haryana, (v) Vinayaka Mission’s Research Foundation, Salem, Tamil Nadu, (vi) Institute of Advanced Studies in Education, Sardarshahr, Rajasthan & (vii) Manav Rachna International University, Faridabad, Haryana out of 44 Deemed to be Universities. On inspection, UGC has informed that these Deemed Universities were found to be deficient in different parameters including infrastructure by the Committee.

Clause 7.0 of the UGC (Institutions Deemed to be Universities) Regulations, 2010 elaborates the following minimum requirements of infrastructure:

I. Not less than five acres of land at its main Campus if it is located in metropolitan area, seven acres of land at its main Campus, if it is located in non-metropolitan urban area, or ten acres of land at its main Campus, if it is located in non-urban areas or as per the norms of the Statutory / Regulatory body concerned, whichever is higher.

II. In case of multi-disciplinary Institution, the aggregate land requirement shall be the sum of the land area prescribed by various Statutory Councils for all courses.

III. Administrative Building of at least 1,000 sq. meters.

IV. Academic Building, including library, lecture theatres and laboratories, of at least 10,000 sq. meters, of which the central library alone being of about 2000 sq. meters.

V. Residential accommodation for teachers and guest house.

VI. Hostel accommodation for students. Hostel accommodation shall be gradually increased to at least 25% of the students within three years of existence of institution deemed to be university.

VII. Equipment, Books and Journals of the institution shall be commensurate with the size and activities of the institution and shall satisfy the requirements of the Statutory/Regulatory body concerned.

VIII. The institution shall also have Broadband Connectivity of appropriate level in order to cater to the needs of self learning / virtual experiments / hands on techniques as well as provide electronic access to journals, books and other learning materials.

The details of the minimum infrastructure and other facilities required for the Deemed to be Universities are also available on UGC’s website at www.ugc.ac.in.

The report of the Expert Committee, wherein several deficiencies viz. Infrastructure, Faculty, Research Activities, Adherence to the UGC Regulations, Governance System, Admission Process and Fee Structure and facilities for faculty and students have been pointed out in respect of these seven institutions, was placed before the Commission. However, the matter is currently subjudice before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in W.P.(C) No.142 of 2006.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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UGC, AICTE AND AIU- Competent to Take Cognizance of Educational Malpractices 
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has not approved any Joint Degree between a foreign university and private institute in India.

The UGC has informed that the UGC (Promotion and Maintenance of Standards of Academic Collaboration between Indian and Foreign Education Institutions) Regulations, 2012 have been notified in order to ensure the quality and standards of higher education provided by foreign educational institution through collaborations, partnership, twinning arrangements with the Indian Higher Educational Institutions. According to these regulations, it is mandatory for any Indian Educational Institution (IEI) desirous of collaboration with Foreign Educational Institution (FEI) to seek approval of affiliating university prior to entering into any collaborative agreement. The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) has stated that the AIU policy for granting equivalence to such foreign degrees that have been awarded for studies undertaken in India, requires the educational institution to adhere to the UGC Regulation and/ or All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) guidelines in this regard.

The question of following Foreign Educational Institution Regulations Act, 2012 does not arise as there is no such Act.

The UGC, AICTE and AIU are competent to take cognizance of educational malpractices and issue advisories to safeguard the interests of students.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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Providing Academic Support to Teachers for Improving Teaching Performance 
The Central Government has launched the ‘Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT)’ in December, 2014 with a vision to comprehensively address all issues related to teachers, teaching, teacher preparation, professional development, curriculum design, research in pedagogy and developing effective pedagogy.

Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the State Governments and UT Administrations are supported on several interventions to improve teaching standards, including regular in-service teachers’ training, induction training for newly recruited teachers, training of all untrained teachers to acquire professional qualifications through Open Distance Learning (ODL) mode, recruitment of additional teachers for better pupil-teacher ratios, academic support for teachers through block and cluster resource centres, a continuous and comprehensive evaluation system to equip the teacher to measure pupil performance and provide remedial action wherever required, and teacher and school grants for development of appropriate teaching-learning materials, etc. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 specifies statutory duties and responsibilities of teachers and lays down the minimum qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in elementary schools. For secondary education, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan programme, similarly, provides for in-service teacher training, induction training for newly recruited teachers and academic support to teachers for improving teacher performance.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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Limiting the no-detention policy 
There is a request from Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi to limit the no-detention policy up to class III. Some States, namely, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura have requested to review the no-detention policy during the meetings of Sub- committee of Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), which was constituted with the objective to assess the implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the context of no- detention provision of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009.

Section 30 (1) of the RTE Act, provides that no child shall be required to pass any Board examination till completion of elementary education, i.e. upto class VIII. On comparison of the results of Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and other State Boards’ for class X and class XII for the years 2009, 2012 and 2013, it is noticed that the pass percentage has increased in respect of most of the States. Similarly, the pass percentage of students of CBSE for class XII continue to remain high.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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UGC requests Universities to shift to Grading System of Evaluation 
The UGC has informed that under CBCS, universities are requested to shift from numerical marking system, which is followed presently in universities, to grading system of evaluation. The grading system is considered to be better than the conventional marks system and hence it has been followed in the top institutions in India and abroad. This will facilitate student mobility across institutions within and across countries and also enable potential employers to assess the performance of students.

Further, under CBCS, Universities will move from the conventional annual system to semester system. The semester system accelerates the teaching-learning process and enables vertical and horizontal mobility in learning. The credit based semester system provides flexibility in assigning credits based on the course content and hours of teaching. The guidelines issued by UGC are available at http://www.ugc.ac.in/pdfnews/ 9555132_Guidelines.pdf

The UGC has informed that all the 39 Central Universities, funded by the UGC, are going to implement the Choice Based Credit System from the ensuing academic session. In addition, 21 State Public Universities, 5 State Private Universities and 6 Deemed to be Universities have also expressed their readiness for implementing CBCS.

The UGC has further informed that the CBCS would be different from the existing teaching-learning process as it would be based on modularized semester system leading to the award of credits. In addition, the performance of students will be adjudged in terms of grades rather than numerical marks. Further, it would also provide greater choices to the prospective students as they may be able to earn credits in their chosen subjects from across the departments as also from across the institutions.

Under Choice Based Credit System (CBCS) the availability of elective subjects increases and the student is not held hostage to academic inflexibility. This enables students to take courses of their choice, learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses and acquire more than the required credits, and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning. The UGC has informed that introduction of CBCS will help resolve various difficulties faced by the students due to the diversity in evaluation system followed by different universities in India. Further, CBCS would ensure seamless mobility of students across the higher education institutions in the country as well as abroad where such system is a norm.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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Providing Separate Toilets for girls and boys in all Government Schools within a year 
The Government of India financially supports States / Union Territories, for augmentation and improvement of school infrastructure including drinking water and toilets under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) programmes. Under SSA and RMSA programmes 2.60 lakh drinking water facilities and 10.26 lakh toilets have been sanctioned across States / UTs since inception of the programmes.

As per Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) data 2013-14, 10.29 lakh schools out of 10.94 lakh government schools have drinking water facility. Swachh Vidyalaya Initiative has been launched to provide separate toilets for girls and boys in all government schools within a year.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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Improving Learning and Educational Standards 
The Ministry of Human Resource Development launched Rashtriya Aavishkar Abhiyan (RAA) programme on 9th July, 2015, inter alia, as a sub-component of SSA and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA), to motivate and engage children of the age group 6-18 years in Science, Mathematics and Technology through observation, experimentation, inference drawing, model building, etc. both through inside and outside classroom activities and processes.

In addition under SSA programme, a total of 19.78 lakh teacher posts have been sanctioned, against which 15.59 lakh teacher posts have been filled up by States/UTs, upto 31st March, 2015 to improve pupil-teacher ratios, imparting of regular annual-in-service teacher training to all teachers to update their skills & knowledge, distribution of free textbooks to children and providing on-site academic support to teachers through Block Resource Centres and cluster Resource Centres. States/UTs have also been assisted to conduct comprehensive external student assessment surveys to access gaps in student learning, in order to undertake corrective action. Under Computer Aided Learning (CAL) component of SSA, States/UTs have been supported financially to promote e-learning of Science and Mathematics at Upper Primary level.

In order to improve the performance and educational standards, the Central Government through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has supported all States/UTs including Maharashtra on early grade reading, writing & comprehension, and early mathematics programmes through a sub-programme namely ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’, and at upper primary level for Mathematics and Science teaching learning in 2014-15.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 provides a legally enforceable rights framework with targets and time frames. Maharashtra has notified its own State rules for RTE and hence the time lines are binding on the State.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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No-detention policy 
From time to time, some State Governments have written to the Central Government to re-examine the no-detention provision of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009. In this background, the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE), in its 59th meeting held on 6th June, 2012, constituted a sub-committee for assessment of implementation of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in the context of no-detention provision in the RTE Act, 2009. The Sub-committee has submitted its report in August, 2014. The recommendations of Sub-committee include, inter alia, measuring learning level outcomes of all children on regular basis, to catalyse a performance-driven culture. The Committee has also recommended a review of ‘No-Detention Policy’ and its implementation in a phased manner.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 
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Children in Madarsas 
The State Government of Maharashtra has informed that a survey of out of school children across the State was conducted on 4th July, 2015. The State Government has further reported that as per the Right to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009 every child of the age 6-14 should be enrolled in a school and that a school must give education to students according to syllabus prepared by the Academic Authority declared by the Government. The State Government has also stated that education in any school which is not teaching as per the curriculum prepared by the Academic Authority of the State (i.e Maharashtra State Council for Educational Research & Training, Pune) is considered as informal education, therefore children enrolled in those schools should be treated as Out of School Children.

Section 2(n) of the RTE Act, 2009 defines a ‘school’ as any recognized school imparting elementary education and includes-

(i) a school established, owned or controlled by the appropriate Government or a local authority;

(ii) aided school receiving aid or grant to meet whole or part of its expenses from the appropriate Government or the local authority;

(iii) a school belonging to specified category; and

(iv) unaided school not receiving any kind of aid or grants to meet its expenses from the appropriate Government or the local authority.

This information was given by Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smt. Smriti Irani in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha Question today. 


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